[Congressional Record Volume 168, Number 36 (Monday, February 28, 2022)]
[Senate]
[Page S839]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]





                         SUBMITTED RESOLUTIONS

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    SENATE RESOLUTION 528--DESIGNATING FEBRUARY 16 OF EACH YEAR AS 
           ``INTERNATIONAL BLACK AVIATION PROFESSIONALS DAY''

  Mr. OSSOFF submitted the following resolution; which was referred to 
the Committee on the Judiciary:

                              S. Res. 528

       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, D.C., 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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