Victor Smith is a (retired) commercial airline pilot. In this segment, he shares two moments in his profession that are meaningful to him.
learn more*On this date in 1976, the Organization of Black Aerospace Professionals (OBAP) is celebrated. OBAP is a nonprofit organization dedicated to the encouragement and advancement of minorities in all aviation and aerospace careers. Thirty-eight African American pilots and aviation industry pioneers, representing nearly 50% of the worldwide minority-pilot population, convened in Chicago to address the […]
learn more*Edward Toppins was born on this date in 1915. He was a Black U.S. Army Air Force pilot and commanding officer. Edward Lucien Toppins was born in Mississippi to Martha E. Toppins Davis, a dressmaker. He was the only brother of three sisters: Henrietta, Delphine, and Naomi. After living in Louisiana in the 1930s, Toppins […]
learn more*Harry Stewart Jr. was born on this date in 1924. He was a Black soldier and fighter pilot. Harry Thaddeus Stewart Jr. was born in Newport News, Virginia. When he was two years old, after living near Langley Field Air Force Base between Hampton and Newport News, Virginia, Stewart and his family moved to Queens […]
learn more*Herbert E. Carter was born on this date in 1919. He was a Black military pilot and a United States Air Force officer. Herbert Eugene Carter was born in Amory, Mississippi, and was one of ten children. His father, George Washington Carter, was African American, and his mother, Willie Ann Sykes Carter, was Native American. […]
learn more*Mildred Louise Hemmons Carter was born on this date in 1921. She was a Black airplane pilot, the first Black female pilot in Alabama. Mildred Louise Hemmons was born to Mamie and Luther Hemmons in Benson, Alabama. Her mother was the town’s postmaster, while her father was the foreman of a sawmill. She lived in […]
learn more*The Challenger Air Pilots Association is celebrated on this date in 1924. Formed by Cornelius Coffey, John Charles Robinson, Willa Brown, and others, it expanded flying opportunities for Blacks in Chicago. Excluded from local airfields, they set up their own at Robbins, Illinois. To become a Pilot
learn more*Dale L. White’s birth is celebrated on this date in 1899. He was a Black pilot and aviation activist. Born in Minden, Louisiana, White moved to Chicago, Illinois, in 1930. In 1932, he attended the Curtiss-Wright Aeronautical University. In August 1933, White began his flight training and received his license in June 1936. Along with […]
learn more*Negro Airmen International (N.A.I.) was founded on this date in 1967. N.A.I. helps Americans of African descent to learn about the field of aviation. Edward Albertis Gibbs and several Tuskegee Airmen trainers were responsible for creating and organizing the N.A.I. and incorporating the organization in New York State in 1967. Many of the present African […]
learn more*Edward Gibbs was born on this date in 1919. He was an aviator, businessman, and instructor. Edward Albertis Gibbs was from New York City. He attended New York City public schools and received a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration from New York University and a Juris Doctorate Degree from New York Law School. He […]
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