[Congressional Bills 117th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. Res. 528 Introduced in Senate (IS)]
<DOC>
117th CONGRESS
2d Session
S. RES. 528
Designating February 16 of each year as ``International Black Aviation
Professionals Day''.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
February 28, 2022
Mr. Ossoff submitted the following resolution; which was referred to
the Committee on the Judiciary
_______________________________________________________________________
RESOLUTION
Designating February 16 of each year as ``International Black Aviation
Professionals Day''.
Whereas, since the birth of aviation, Black Americans have made and continue to
make significant contributions to flight, space exploration, and the
aviation industry as a whole, despite significant adversity;
Whereas aviation trailblazers like Emory C. Malick, the first licensed Black
pilot, James H. Banning, the first Black pilot to fly across the United
States, and Bessie ``Queen'' Coleman, the first licensed Black woman
pilot, barnstormed through barriers such as racism and sexism to have
careers in aviation;
Whereas Black American visionaries like William J. Powell, Jr., established the
Bessie Coleman Flying Club, sponsored the first all-Black American
airshow, wrote the book entitled ``Black Wings'', produced a documentary
film entitled ``Unemployment, the Negro and Aviation'', and worked
tirelessly to mobilize Black American youth to pursue careers in
aviation;
Whereas Cornelius Coffey, a skilled Black American auto mechanic who dreamed of
flying, and Willa Brown, the first Black woman to earn both a pilot's
license and a commercial license and the first Black woman to become an
officer in the Illinois Civil Air Patrol, organized a group of Black air
enthusiasts, established training classes and a school of aeronautics,
and helped promote the 1939 flight of Chauncey Spencer and Dale White
from Chicago to Washington, DC, to campaign for an end to racial
segregation in aviation;
Whereas the Tuskegee Army Airfield, after which the Tuskegee Airmen were named,
became a vital center for Black American servicemen and servicewomen to
train as mechanics, control-tower operators, and pilots of military
aircrafts, launching the careers of many notable Black aviators,
including General Benjamin O. Davis, Jr., Amelia Jones, Linkwood
Williams, Lieutenant Colonel Lee A. Archer, Major Charles Hall,
Brigadier General Charles McGee, and many others;
Whereas the Red Tails of the 99th Fighter Squadron and later the 332d Fighter
Group known as the Tuskegee Airmen made pioneering contributions to the
United States war effort during World War II and the subsequent drive to
end racial segregation in the Armed Forces;
Whereas, in 1958, Ruth Carol Taylor became the first Black regional flight
attendant in the United States;
Whereas, in 1956, Patricia Banks-Edmiston filed, and, in 1960, ultimately won, a
discrimination case against Capital Airlines, paving the way for her to
become the first Black commercial flight attendant in the United States;
Whereas these historic firsts opened the skies for Black flight attendants,
including Joan Dorsey, Diane Hunter, Patricia Grace Murphy, Undra Mays,
Sheila Nutt, and Margaret Grant;
Whereas Oscar Wayman Holmes was the first Black air traffic controller and
served as the first Black aircraft pilot and the first Black
commissioned officer in the Navy, and Eleanor Williams became the first
Black woman air traffic controller in 1971;
Whereas Black scientists have played an integral role in the United States,
reaching the stars through the brilliance and fortitude of historically
overlooked and unappreciated figures, including Katherine Johnson,
Dorothy Vaughn, and Mary Jackson, whose contributions in astrophysics
allowed the United States to send humans into space;
Whereas Black Americans finally soared amongst the stars when Guion ``Guy''
Bluford and Mae Jemison became the first Black American man and woman,
respectively, to venture into space;
Whereas the research of Black Americans like physician Vance H. Marchbanks and
psychophysiologist Patricia Cowings made it safer for astronauts to
travel to space;
Whereas Black American inventors helped revolutionize air and space travel,
including through the long-distance airplane designed by Charles W.
Chappelle, contributions by Gladys West to the development of the Global
Positioning System (GPS), technology created by George Robert Carruthers
that allowed for photography in space, and the power source created by
Lonnie Johnson for the National Aeronautics and Space Administration's
Galileo mission to Jupiter;
Whereas Maynard Holbrook Jackson, Jr., the first Black mayor of the City of
Atlanta, Georgia, is renowned for his major initiative, a diversity and
inclusion plan to ensure Black business owners had the opportunity to
participate in the expansion of Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International
Airport into a major transportation hub, ahead of schedule and under
budget, all while paving the way for minority-owned businesses to
support the aviation industry through construction, management, and
concessions programs at airports across the United States;
Whereas, on February 12, 2009, on a flight from Atlanta to Nashville, Captain
Rachelle Jones Kerr, First Officer Stephanie Grant, and flight
attendants Robin Rogers and Diana Galloway made history as the first
all-female, all-Black American flight crew;
Whereas Casey Grant, an author, aviator, and pioneer in her own right as one of
the earliest Black flight attendants, has made it her mission to honor
the legacy and contributions of Black pioneers in aviation through her
books entitled ``Stars in the Sky'' and ``Stars and Beyond'' and her
efforts to introduce a new generation of young Black individuals across
the United States and in Ghana to the field of aviation;
Whereas organizations, including the Organization of Black Aerospace
Professionals, the Black Aviation Airline Pioneers, the Sisters of the
Skies, the Bessie Coleman Aviation All-Stars, and the Black Flight
Attendants of America, Inc., continue to preserve the legacy of Black
Americans in aviation;
Whereas Black Americans have long served in every aspect of aviation, from
skycaps, who greet travelers arriving at the airport, and ticketing
agents, who ensure itineraries are in order, to ground crew, mechanics,
and many others, who make the aviation industry safe and reliable;
Whereas the Federal Aviation Administration provides opportunities to eligible
students from historically underrepresented backgrounds in the fields of
aviation, aeronautics, and science, technology, engineering, and math
(STEM) through the STEM Aviation and Space Education Program by
recruiting candidates from historically Black colleges and universities
for programs such as the Minority Serving Institutions Intern Program;
and
Whereas public and private sector efforts to recruit, retain, and promote
talented Black Americans through increased emphasis on intentional
diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives, programs, and commitments
and investments in programs that expose underrepresented groups to
careers in aviation will ultimately help diversify the workforce for
decades to come: Now, therefore, be it
Resolved, That the Senate--
(1) designates February 16 of each year as ``International
Black Aviation Professionals Day'';
(2) encourages the observation of ``International Black
Aviation Professionals Day'' through the recognition and
celebration of the contributions of Black aviation
professionals; and
(3) requests that the President issue a proclamation
calling upon the people of the United States--
(A) to recognize the stories and contributions of
Black American aviation professionals who broke
barriers, innovated, and took aviation to greater
heights;
(B) to provide enhanced curriculum in schools,
libraries, and other places of learning to educate all
people of the United States with respect to the
contributions of Black aviation pioneers; and
(C) to support greater opportunities for Black
Americans in all areas of aviation.
<all>