It was Nov. 23, 1963, the night after President John F. Kennedy's assassination. Charles Bolden was a high school senior, playing in the South Carolina state football championship game. He was mourning Kennedy's death along with the rest of the country, but he was mourning something else as well.
"I saw my chances of going to the Naval Academy kind of evaporating," he said in an interview with NPR's Morning Edition, more than 50 years later.
But Bolden did make it to the Naval Academy. He went on to serve in the Marine Corps as an aviator, flying more than 100 combat missions in North and South Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia in the early 1970s. Bolden later became a NASA astronaut and traveled to orbit four times aboard the space shuttle. After his last space flight, he returned to the Marine Corps and achieved the rank of major general. Then in 2009, he was appointed the administrator of NASA, the first African American to hold the office.
But that first critical step of attending the Naval Academy almost didn't happen, Bolden says, when his state representatives would not nominate him for consideration because he was black. One of South Carolina's senators at the time, Strom Thurmond, flatly rejected Bolden's request.
"[He] told me, 'No way are you going to get an appointment from me to go to the Naval Academy,'" Bolden says. "It was clear why they were not supporting me and it was because of the times. They were just not about to appoint a black to the Naval Academy or to any Academy."
More
DelMarVa's Premier Source for News, Opinion, Analysis, and Human Interest Contact Publisher Joe Albero at alberobutzo@wmconnect.com or 410-430-5349
3 comments:
Sounds like people like him have proven that skin color doesn't have to mean inferiority or racial disability. They are to be commended for their perseverance and determination. What's the BLM losers' excuse again?
Never mind. I don't care what their excuses are. I only care that all people are judged on their merit and the content of their character.
Agreed 12:23. People like Charles Bolden managed to succeed despite the tremendous obstacles placed in front of him. He should be applauded but instead he'll be ridiculed by BLM and others like them for "playing the game" and "following white rules." As for me, stories like his make me proud to be an American.
Not to dispute the General's qualifications leading to success, but the article does go on to state that he was selected by a process looking for qualified candidates of color. Had it been simply qualified candidates, I would have more respect for the process and institution.
Affirmative action always hurts at least the same number of people that it helps. In this case, the outcome was acceptable - we'll never know if there were better qualified candidates (not necessarily of color) that could have done as well or better.
The best and most recent example of affirmative action failure is in residency at the white house. I did not get to keep my doctor, health insurer, or job for that matter - and even though I make less than $250k/yr, my taxes increased.
Let's not make the same affirmative action mistake with a vaginal candidate!
Post a Comment