Patricia Banks
*Patricia Banks was born on this date in 1937. She is a retired Black flight attendant, administrator, and counselor.
Patricia Noisette Banks was born to parents Sadie and Joseph Banks in New York City. She graduated from Aquinas High School in 1955. Banks Edmiston attended Queens College for a year to study psychology. While attending, she applied and was accepted into Grace Downs Air Career School in 1956.
After completing her flight attendant training, Banks Edmiston sought employment in various airline companies, but she received consistent rejections. She interviewed at Mohawk Airlines, Trans World Airlines, and Capital Airlines but was not selected to advance in the hiring process. During the screening process for Capital Airlines, Banks Edmiston initially received a rating of "B+" from the chief hostess, but the director of passenger service later nullified her application. Banks Edmiston was told by a chief hostess at Capital Airlines that "the company didn't hire black people in flight capacities."
In 1957, after seeking advice from Adam Clayton Powell Jr., Banks Edmiston decided to take legal action against Capital Airlines by filing a 72-page complaint with the New York State Commission Against Discrimination. In its defense, the airline contended that the complaint was null and void due to age, surpassing the 90-day statute of limitations. After the three-year legal battle, the Commission ruled in 1960 that the airline had illegally discriminated against Banks Edmiston because of her race and required them to offer her employment. They also ordered Capital Airlines to "cease from maintaining a policy of barring negroes from employment because of their color, in all flight capacities, including that of flight hostess."
The case was a "hallmark legal proceeding that revolutionized the industry" and is credited with leading other airlines to hire Black women. Her winning of the case resulted in harassment and violent threats at the time, to the point that Edmiston had to seek law enforcement assistance. In May 1960, four years after first applying to Capital Airlines, Banks Edmiston started as the first Black stewardess at the airline. The stress of racial discrimination while flying in the American South took a toll on Edmiston. This, and the pressure she felt to maintain a flawless record to preserve prospects for other Black flight attendants, caused Edmiston to resign from Capital Airlines in 1961.
From 1970 to 1972, she served as a counselor at New York City's Addicts Rehabilitation Center. Following that, she was a program manager at the New York City Manpower Planning Council. Banks Edmiston assumed a role as a program manager within the New York State Office of Alcohol and Substance Abuse Services in 1974. In 1975, she earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in psychology from Empire State College. In 1999, she returned to the Addicts Rehabilitation Center and was a consultant until 2015. Edmiston also dedicated her expertise as a board of directors member for the Black Flight Attendants of America. Between 1999 and 2001, Banks Edmiston worked for the American Red Cross as captain of the disaster team. Her professional endeavors also extended to her involvement with American Airlines Medical Wings International from 2000 to 2002.
In her personal life, Banks Edmiston has practiced Shotokan, a style of karate in which she holds a black belt. In 2010, she was inducted into the Black Aviation Hall of Fame at the National Civil Rights Museum for her world-class contributions to aviation. She has also been honored by the Smithsonian.
