Posted on Feb 18, 2022
'Segregated Skies' tells the story of the first Black pilot for a commercial airline
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https://www.npr.org/2022/02/18/ [login to see] /segregated-skies-tells-the-story-of-the-first-black-pilot-for-a-commercial-airli
When American Airlines hired David Harris in 1964, he became the first African American pilot for a commercial airline. The story of how he broke the color barrier in the clouds is the subject of the young adult book Segregated Skies by Pulitzer Prize winner Michael Cottman.
When American Airlines hired David Harris in 1964, he became the first African American pilot for a commercial airline. The story of how he broke the color barrier in the clouds is the subject of the young adult book Segregated Skies by Pulitzer Prize winner Michael Cottman.
'Segregated Skies' tells the story of the first Black pilot for a commercial airline
Posted from npr.org
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Flying
American History
Posted 2 y ago
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PO1 William "Chip" Nagel
..."At age 87, David Harris doesn't fly anymore — and he misses it.
"It's the greatest job in the world. I flew and flew and flew and was ready to fly more in my life," Harris says wistfully. "I would have done it another 30 years had I not grown old."
The first inkling Harris had about a career flying airplanes came when he was growing up in Columbus, Ohio. He and his brother used to visit the Lockbourne Air Force Base. That's where the decorated Tuskegee Airmen were stationed after World War II. At the time the armed forces were segregated.
"My brother and I would run around the base and enjoy the facility and never paid any attention to the fact that all the people on the base were Black," he remembers.
Harris got to know some of the famed airmen. He says they would've been "excellent" as pilots "for major airlines in the U.S.A, but nobody would hire them."
Even though President Truman desegregated the armed forces in 1948, racism within the airline industry persisted. "There were certainly people who were saying 'Well, a Black man cannot fly an airplane,'" says Lyn May, who was married to Harris when he began his training for the U.S. Air Force in the late 1950s. She says, despite the racism he faced, Harris stayed focused. "To learn to do something while you know there are people around you who think you are inherently incompetent takes great verve, great courage, and David had that," she says.
Eventually, Harris became a captain in the U.S. Air Force flying B-52 bombers. After six and a half years in the military, he applied to be a pilot at several commercial airlines. Harris biographer Michael Cottman says only American responded. "He'd been rejected by some airlines. Other airlines just didn't get back to him. I think there was one airline that didn't even take his application. So, by the time he got to American Airlines, I think this was about it," says Cottman."...
..."At age 87, David Harris doesn't fly anymore — and he misses it.
"It's the greatest job in the world. I flew and flew and flew and was ready to fly more in my life," Harris says wistfully. "I would have done it another 30 years had I not grown old."
The first inkling Harris had about a career flying airplanes came when he was growing up in Columbus, Ohio. He and his brother used to visit the Lockbourne Air Force Base. That's where the decorated Tuskegee Airmen were stationed after World War II. At the time the armed forces were segregated.
"My brother and I would run around the base and enjoy the facility and never paid any attention to the fact that all the people on the base were Black," he remembers.
Harris got to know some of the famed airmen. He says they would've been "excellent" as pilots "for major airlines in the U.S.A, but nobody would hire them."
Even though President Truman desegregated the armed forces in 1948, racism within the airline industry persisted. "There were certainly people who were saying 'Well, a Black man cannot fly an airplane,'" says Lyn May, who was married to Harris when he began his training for the U.S. Air Force in the late 1950s. She says, despite the racism he faced, Harris stayed focused. "To learn to do something while you know there are people around you who think you are inherently incompetent takes great verve, great courage, and David had that," she says.
Eventually, Harris became a captain in the U.S. Air Force flying B-52 bombers. After six and a half years in the military, he applied to be a pilot at several commercial airlines. Harris biographer Michael Cottman says only American responded. "He'd been rejected by some airlines. Other airlines just didn't get back to him. I think there was one airline that didn't even take his application. So, by the time he got to American Airlines, I think this was about it," says Cottman."...
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