Blacks in aviation

Text “ERICA” to 52140 to join the Get Up! Mornings w/ Erica Campbell mobile club for exclusive news. (Terms and conditions).  Via Madamenoire: Black women are continuing to break down barriers one first at a time. The latest woman representing #BlackGirlMagic is Andrea Lewis, a Delta Airlines flight attendant, who has just been named by the […]

              Jonathan Strickland may as well have wings attached to his back as the young pilot already owns several world records in aviation. The Los Angeles native recently achieved another mark by becoming the youngest pilot hired by UPS at just 25 years old. At a very young age, […]

When Louis “Lou” Freeman takes to the skies on Thursday June 8, it will be his last time doing so as a pilot for Southwest Airlines. The sendoff marks the end of 36 years as a commercial airline pilot and as the first Black chief pilot for any major U.S. carrier. Freeman was born June 12, […]

South African businesswoman Siza Mzimela made history this past September after the launch of her domestic airline, Fly Blue Crane. She is the first Black woman to own and operate her own airline. Sizakele Petunia Mzimela is an airline industry veteran and no stranger to the executive level. She was the CEO for South African […]

Lieutenant Calvin Spann was an original member of the legendary Tuskegee Airmen and military pilot who fought in missions during World War II. Lt. Spann died last week at the age of 90, and has been honored in both his adopted home of Texas and his home state of New Jersey. Spann flew 26 missions […]

Marlon D. Green has been considered the “Jackie Robinson of Aviation,” although he didn’t set out to make that distinction. The former Air Force pilot was determined to fly for a commercial airline but was denied because he was Black. Undaunted, he decided to sue for his right to fly. In 1963, the U.S. Supreme […]

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Two members of the Tuskegee Airmen — the famed all-black squadron that flew in World War II — died on the same day. The men, lifelong friends who enlisted together, were 91. Clarence E. Huntley Jr. and Joseph Shambrey died on Jan. 5 in their Los Angeles homes, relatives said Sunday. […]

Charles Alfred “Chief” Anderson will be honored this week in his hometown of Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania in recognition of his commemorative stamp issued by the U.S. Postal Service. Anderson was a pioneering Black aviator who became the lead trainer for the Tuskegee Airmen. As we detailed in our Little Known Black History Fact, Anderson flew […]