III 

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 


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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; 


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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 CarVerDate Sep 11 2014 02:34 Mar 01, 2022 Jkt 029200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6300 E:\BILLS\SR528.IS SR528

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ruthers 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, allBlack 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 AmerVerDate Sep 11 2014 02:34 Mar 01, 2022 Jkt 029200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6300 E:\BILLS\SR528.IS SR528

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ica, 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 

1 Resolved, That the Senate— 

2 (1) designates February 16 of each year as 

3 ‘‘International Black Aviation Professionals Day’’; 

4 (2) encourages the observation of ‘‘Inter5 national Black Aviation Professionals Day’’ through 

6 the recognition and celebration of the contributions 

7 of Black aviation professionals; and 


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1 (3) requests that the President issue a procla2 mation calling upon the people of the United 

3 States— 

4 (A) to recognize the stories and contribu5 tions of Black American aviation professionals 

6 who broke barriers, innovated, and took avia7 tion to greater heights; 

8 (B) to provide enhanced curriculum in 

9 schools, libraries, and other places of learning 

10 to educate all people of the United States with 

11 respect to the contributions of Black aviation 

12 pioneers; and 

13 (C) to support greater opportunities for 

14 Black Americans in all areas of aviation. 

Æ 


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