[Congressional Bills 117th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. Res. 528 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

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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.
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