Designating February 16, 2023, as International Black Aviation Professionals Day.

Designating February 16, 2023, 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 Whereas William J. Powell, Jr., was a visionary who established the Bessie Coleman Flying Club, sponsored the first all-Black American airshow, wrote the book entitled Black Wings Unemployment, the Negro and Aviation Whereas Cornelius Coffey, a skilled auto mechanic who dreamed of flying, and Willa Brown, the first Black woman to earn both a pilot 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 servicemembers 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 Tuskegee Airmen 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 Black commissioned officer in the United States Navy, and, in 1971, Eleanor Williams became the first Black woman air traffic controller; 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 individuals into space; Whereas Black Americans finally soared amongst the stars when Guion Guy 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 Charles W. Chappelle designing a long-distance airplane, Gladys West contributing to the development of the Global Positioning System (GPS), George Robert Carruthers creating technology that allowed for photography in space, and Lonnie Johnson creating the power source for the Galileo mission to Jupiter for the National Aeronautics and Space Administration; 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, an aviator, and a pioneer in her own right as 1 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 Stars and Beyond 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, the Black Flight Attendants of America, Inc., and more 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 the itineraries of travelers 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 and aeronautics, and science, technology, engineering, and math (referred to in this preamble as STEM 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, as well as 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 That the Senate (1) designates February 16, 2023, as International Black Aviation Professionals Day (2) encourages the observation of International Black Aviation Professionals Day (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 an enhanced curriculum in schools, libraries, and other places of learning to educate all individuals 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.

Summary: This resolution designates February 16, 2023, as International Black Aviation Professionals Day. It also encourages the observation of the day through recognition and celebration of the contributions of Black aviation professionals.