Making History
OBAP History & Hall of Fame
Each year, at the OBAP Annual Conference, we induct honorable aerospace professionals into the OBAP Hall of Fame. Established in 2008, the traveling exhibition serves as a testament to the impact these individuals continue to have on the aerospace industry, the African American community, and our entire country.
These notable individuals are honored for their unwavering commitment to their careers, and contribution to the industry at-large. This is our history.
Celebrating the Life and Legacy of OBAP Founder Member, Ben Thomas
In 1976 Ben Thomas, then a young African American pilot with Eastern Airlines spearheaded an effort to form a permanent body to address discrimination in the airline industry. He invited thirty-seven African American pilots, representing nearly 50% of the industry total at the time, to join him. Together, they formed The Organization of Black Airline Pilots which would later become The Organization of Black Aerospace Professionals (OBAP). Thomas's legacy is carried forward by his family and dear friends, as well as the hundreds of Black aviators and aerospace professionals who followed in his footsteps.
We celebrate the life of Mr. Thomas, and take up the mantle to carry his legacy forward into the future.
Organization of Black Aerospace Professionals
Founders and Pioneers Hall of Fame
2008 Inductees
Alexander Lambert
August Martin
Barry Taylor
Benjamin F. Thomas
Bennie Clay
Bessie Coleman
Charles E. Black
Charles A. Davis
Charles S. Mack
David E. Harris
Don E. Barton
Edward Moon
Frank B. Jones
Frederick O. Boone
George W. Nixon
Harold C. Heard Jr.
Herman O. Samuels
Howard L. Baugh
Jack Noel
James A. Brannen
James L. Davis Sr.
James Edwards
James H. Green
James E. Lee III
Jill Brown
Jim E. Betts
John Gordon
Joseph B. Moore
Louis Freeman
Marlon Green
Oscar Perry
Patricia Edmiston Banks
Perry Young
Pickney Mosely Jr.
Ray and Patrice Washington
R. Ricardo Youngblood
Richard E. Roundtree
Robert Ashby
Robert E. Smith
Ruth Carol Taylor
Sidney L. Clark Jr.
Simon P. Gaskill
Solomon Cates
Stanley M. Brown
The Tuskegee Airmen
Vernice Armour
William R. Norwood
William Brown
William C. Rand
Willis N. Brown Jr.
2009 Inductees
Louise Greenwood Phipps
Pat Edmidston Banks
Barbara Stewart
Diane Hunter
Earnie Growe
2010 Inductees
Captain Carroll Waters
Al Joseph
James Perkins
Captain Chuck Rich
Captain Lou Freeman
Captain Mike Swanigan
2011 Inductees
Lieutenant Colonel Edgar V. Lewis (ret.)
Captain Robert Brown (ret.)
Captain Aaron J. Gould (ret.)
Captain Larry Parker
Dr. Daniel E. Coons Ph.D.
Organization of Black Aerospace Professionals
2012-2013 Founders and Pioneers Hall of Fame
Lieutenant Colonel/Captain Robert Ashby
OBAP Founders and Pioneers Hall of Fame 2012 Inductee
Aviation Pioneer Robert Ashby was in high school when World War II began. He knew that at the age of 18 he would be eligible for the draft. He also knew that he did not want to serve in the Infantry. Ashby had a paper route while he was in school and he read about the struggle to have Blacks serve in the Army Air Corp. When he learned that Blacks were being accepted for Cadet training he began taking courses that would afford him that opportunity.
Ashby joined the Army Air Corp Reserve at the age of 17, passed the exam for the Air Cadet program and waited to go to flight training once he was called into active duty in August, 1944. His assignment at Tuskegee Army Air Field came in December of 1944. Upon completion of Basic Training Ashby was transferred to the B-25 Bomber. After graduation and appointed a 2nd Lieutenant, Ashby stayed at Tuskegee Army Field until October 1946. His military career spanned three conflicts. At the end of WWII he was stationed in Japan as a part of the occupation forces, then in Korea and eventually in England during the Cold War.
Towards the end of his military career the airlines started hiring more Blacks and were in the process of transferring from Props to jet aircrafts, so Ashby decided to retire from the military and try his hand with a civilian airline. He was hired initially by United Airlines as a Flight Operation Instructor, which meant that although he was more than qualified with a background as an instructor in six jet B-47 bombers for the 509th Bomb Wing, he would not instruct Captains and First Officers in flying. Ashby was the first Black pilot to be hired by Frontier Airlines in 1972. He enjoyed his career with Frontier, flying Line Captain on several different aircrafts.
Lieutenant Colonel/Captain Robert Ashby retired in July 1986. He currently spends his time involved with the Tuskegee Organization working with student and community service work.
Captain Edward L. Horne, Jr.
OBAP Founders and Pioneers Hall of Fame 2012 Inductee
OBAP Pioneer Edward L. Horne, Jr. spent most of his early years in Tacoma, Washington. His father was a WWII veteran and was highly decorated throughout his 25 year career in the Army. It was through his father’s military career that Captain Horne developed his passion for flying at an early age, building and flying model airplanes. His early childhood dream was to become a pilot.
In 1966, after graduating from high school, Horne played varsity basketball for the University of Puget Sound and was enrolled in the Air Force ROTC. He graduated in 1970 with a Bachelor’s Degree in History and was commissioned as a 2nd Lieutenant in the United States Air Force. His first assignment was Undergraduate Pilot Training at Williams Air Force Base, located near Phoenix, Arizona. After graduating in 1971, Horne was assigned to Forbes AFB as a C-130 co-pilot, located just outside of Topeka, Kansas. While assigned to Forbes Horne flew missions throughout Europe, South America and the Far East. Horne became an aircraft commander on the C-130 and in 1974 he graduated from the C-130 instructor pilot’s school and became a C-130 instructor, assigned to the 62nd squadron at Little Rock Air Force Base, Arkansas where he remained until 1976, training aircrews from the USAF and other countries worldwide.
In 1976 Horne received an honorable discharge from the Air Force and began to pursue a career in commercial aviation. Horne flew for General Motors Air Transport Services for one year as a first officer. While flying for GM Horne joined the 305th Aerospace Rescue and Recovery Squadron located at Selfridge ANG Base just outside of Mt. Clemens, Michigan. He flew a variety of missions all over the world, including missions supporting several NASA Space Shuttle launches as the rescue aircraft.
In 1979, Horne was hired by TWA as a flight engineer on the B-727 at TWA’s training facility in Kansas City, Missouri. He was furloughed after 9 months, then accepted a position with Eastern Airlines in Miami, Florida. He remained with Eastern until 1985 when he was recalled by TWA. When TWA began to have financial difficulties, Horne accepted a position with Japan Airlines. Horne became the first African American pilot hired by Japan Airlines in 1991 and four years later became the first non-Japanese pilot to be upgraded to Captain at Japan Airlines.
In 2001, Horne was offered an Assistant Chief Pilot management position with United Parcel Service (UPS). He began his career with UPS in Louisville, Kentucky as a B767/757 instructor, check airman. Until his retirement in 2013, Horne flew the B747-400 throughout Europe, Asia and the Middle East.
Throughout his aviation career Horne has been involved in various community organizations. For 30 years he served as a Big Brother. He has been an active member of OBAP serving as a Board member and regional vice president. Horne and his wife Cheryl established a scholarship in his name to promote the careers of young students in aviation. Captain Edward L. Horne, Jr. was inducted into the OBAP Hall of Fame in 2012.
Cecil Ewell
OBAP Founders and Pioneers Hall of Fame 2012 Inductee
OBAP Pioneer Cecil Ewell’s interest in WWII history, especially the saga of WWII aviation, led him into a military career where he flew 152 missions in Viet Nam.
Ewell had read about the overwhelming odds the Tuskegee Airmen had to overcome, but when he had the privilege of meeting them in person he was struck by their humility and matter-of-fact-attitude. It seemed that through the eyes of the world the Airmen were heroes, but from their perspective, they were only doing their part to support the war effort.
After two combat tours in the United States Navy, Ewell joined American Airlines and spent the next 25 years flying as a line pilot, check airman and instructor on the Boeing 727, Airbus 300 and Boeing 757/767 aircrafts. Ewell became a Fleet Supervisor and Manager of the Boeing 767 at American’s Flight Academy and in 1993, became Chief Pilot managing ten flight crew bases, training and thousands of pilots and ground personnel. Ewell was instrumental in hiring over 2000 minority pilots.
Today, Ewell advises young people aspiring towards careers in aerospace to persevere. It’s what he learned from the Tuskegee Airmen and what he wants to pass along, “Be a bull dog and never quit!” he says. Cecil Ewell was inducted into the OBAP Hall of Fame in 2012.
Captain Les Morris
OBAP Founders and Pioneers Hall of Fame 2012 Inductee
OBAP Pioneer Leslie Morris got his first lesson in flying in a Piper Cub on June 30, 1954. He wasn’t happy about riding in the back seat, but according to Morris, “It got better once the instructor got out of the aircraft and I soloed.” To avoid the draft, Les took the exam for the Air Force Aviation Cadet program, which, in April of 1957, led him to becoming a New York National Guard Pilot at Lackland Air Force Base. Once Morris had his commercial pilot’s license he was qualified to become an air traffic controller, so he began as an Assistant Controller in the New York Center in 1959.
Morris began to advance in his career and on November 8, 1965 he reported to work at Eastern Airlines in Miami, Florida becoming a flight engineer on the Lockheed Constellation. Then, for the next 25 years he flew the DC-8, B-727, L-1011 and the B-757. He became Captain Les Morris in 1978 and was promoted to Manager of Flying in 1979. Morris retired from Eastern in 1991 and became Chief Pilot for the Pan Am Shuttle where he remained until the shuttle was purchased by Delta Air Lines in 1993.
To keep active in the field of aviation post-retirement, Morris became a parttime instructor with Flight Safety International instructing on the Falcon 900 and Learjet 60.
In February 1997, Morris, along with five other pilots, formed Black Pilots of
America (BPA) whose primary objective is to introduce underrepresented
youth to the field of aviation. As part of the Janet W. Bragg Chapter, Morris
developed the Young Golden Wings program, which carries out the
objectives of BPA and provides scholarships to the most promising students,
allowing them to obtain their FAA Private Pilot’s License at no cost. Captain
Les Morris—truly a pioneer in his own right.
Eleanor Williams
OBAP Founders and Pioneers Hall of Fame 2012 Inductee
OBAP Pioneer Eleanor Williams was the first African American female air traffic controller in the country. The Texas native and mother of seven began working for the Federal Aviation Administration in 1963 as a janitor. Three months after working on the cleaning crew, Williams took another job working at a cafeteria hospital before attending free classes at a local community college to further her education. After stenography and secretarial training, Williams re-applied to the FAA and obtained a job as a secretary in 1965.
Williams continued to seek more ways to make money because, as she said, “the babysitter was costing an arm and a leg.” Williams completed the controller entrance exam and began training at the Anchorage Flight Service Station in 1968. It wasn’t until 1980 that Williams learned that she was the first African American female air traffic controller. Williams’ courage to progress inspired other African American women to follow - women like Laverne Reid, who became the second African American female air traffic controller.
Williams was continuously promoted to train controllers in Kansas City, Washington D.C., Atlanta and San Juan, Puerto Rico. In 1976, Williams and Reid formed an Anchorage chapter of the National Federation of Business and Professional Women.
In 1997, Williams retired from the FAA as an executive director. She was inducted into the Black Aviation Hall of Fame in 2001 and the OBAP Hall of Fame in 2012. Eleanor Williams died on April 22, 2011 at the age of 73.
Captain Donnie Cochran
OBAP Founders and Pioneers Hall of Fame 2013 Inductee
OBAP Pioneer, Donnie Cochran manages the Aviation Program at the Coca-Cola Company. Prior to working at Coca-Cola, Cochran transferred the skills he acquired in the military to the corporate world where he merited leadership positions with United Parcel Services (UPS). Cochran’s career includes serving in the United States Navy and other related military positions.
While in the Navy, Cochran served as a naval officer and aviator. He also served as the Deputy Commander of the Navy’s Recruiting Command and as the Commanding Officer. In addition to his Navy career, Cochran was a Professor of Naval Science of the Navy ROTC units at Florida A & M and Florida State Universities.
During his service in the Navy, Cochran mastered the exceptional leadership and aviation skills required to lead two fighter squadrons. He was the first African American pilot to become a member in 1985 and the first African American Commanding Officer and Flight Leader of the United States Navy’s elite precision flying team, the “Blue Angels”. As a member of the “Blue Angels”, he flew the number three jet for two years and the number four jet for an additional year. He was with the trailblazer team who last flew the
A-4 Sky Hawk, and a member of the inaugural team that flew the F/A-18 Hornet. In 1994, as a pioneer and aviator at the top of his field, Cochran was honored for his distinguished accomplishments with the United States Navy’s Blue Angels.
As a staunch achiever with an illustrious career, Cochran has received many recognition awards. His leadership and high performance under stressful circumstances have been the hallmarks of Donnie Cochran’s numerous achievements. Cochran’s unique people skills and his flawless execution of highly skilled maneuvers have garnered him the accolades of his peers and others outside of his field. He has cultivated a wealth of experience that has provided many moments of inspiration. It is from those moments that Cochran draws his motivation to demonstrate how to achieve unprecedented levels of performance and excellence. According to Cochran, his unique perspective on team dynamics is like a lighthouse to help one avert behaviors that can undermine team performance. Today, although he still believes in “not self, but country,” Cochran has modified this saying to, “not self, but distinguished service!”
Julius J. Alexander, Jr.
OBAP Founders and Pioneers Hall of Fame 2013 Inductee
OBAP Pioneer Julius J. Alexander, Jr. was born in Tuskegee, Alabama in 1937. When he was just weeks old his family moved to Atlanta, Georgia where he grew up and was educated in the Atlanta Public School System. After graduating from high school, he returned to Alabama to attend Tuskegee University. Having been exposed to aviation through the Air Force ROTC program at Tuskegee, Alexander took flying lessons in the interim between his first and second year of college, while working full-time to earn money to continue school. He made his first solo flight in a Piper J-3 Cub on January 22, 1956.
He transferred to and graduated from Morehouse College, in 1959 and became a teacher for the Atlanta Public Schools. Alexander earned his pilot’s license in 1964 and in 1965 he was selected as one of the three teachers to teach a new innovative aviation course. With this assignment he became a pioneer in high school aviation education in Atlanta. An essay on his idea of the ideal high school aviation program netted him an invitation from Cessna Aircraft to be one of 10 aviation teachers throughout the country to attend an aviation education workshop in Wichita, Kansas. In 1970, Alexander wrote a major article for Science Activities Magazine, entitled, “Wings for the Black Ghetto.” The article conveyed the success he experienced in using the aviation class and flying as a tool for academic improvement and self-esteem for the inner-city economically deprived students at Atlanta’s Price High School.
Alexander also formed a Civil Air Patrol cadet squadron at Price High School so that younger students who could not participate in the 11th and 12th grade aviation course could learn the disciplines of aviation. During his tenure as a high school aviation teacher Alexander earned FAA certifications as a ground instructor, commercial pilot, multi-engine pilot, and flight instructor for single and multi-engine airplanes. On Saturdays, he provided flying lessons for his students who sold candy bars to raise money to pay for the rental of a Cessna 150. Today, two of his former Price High School students from the Carver Homes public housing projects are now captains with US Airways.
Alexander was the first civilian African American flight instructor to train students at Atlanta’s Fulton County Airport (Brown Field). In 1974 aviation classes were discontinued in Atlanta and he accepted an offer from Lockheed Martin Aerospace Corporation in nearby Marietta, Georgia. As a publicist for Lockheed, he sharpened his aviation writing skills and several of his aviation articles have been published.
Desiring to continue working with youths, Alexander organized a program for aviation training for teenagers under contract with Atlanta’s Super Summer 1977 program. This led to a contract with the National Alliance of Business to design an Aviation Enrichment Program for youths. Alexander led a team that designed Aviation Career Education (ACE), which is widely in use today in ACE camps throughout the U.S. In 1980, he founded Aviation Career Enrichment, Inc., a youth motivation program that operates a Weekend Flight Academy for youngsters between the ages of 9 and 18. Today, ACE operates from its own building at Fulton County Airport, has an enrollment of 80 students and 20 volunteer ground and flight instructors, some of whom are themselves graduates of the Weekend Academy.
Alexander has logged over 11,000 hours and has taught 169 pilots through first solo. Fifteen of his former students are now flying with major airlines, including his son. In October, 2010, he was elected to the Georgia Aviation Hall of Fame and was inducted on April 9, 2011 at the Georgia Museum of Aviation in Warner Robins, Georgia.
Captain Calvin Janes
OBAP Founders and Pioneers Hall of Fame 2013 Inductee
OBAP Pioneer, Captain Calvin Janes retired from FedEx Express Corporation in December, 2010 after more than 32 years with the company. Janes was immediately hired by FedEx Express in Memphis, Tennessee, after serving in the United States Air Force as a pilot from January 1972 to November 1978.
While at FedEx, Janes had a very illustrious career flying as a pilot and holding management positions in the corporation. In April 1980, Janes was upgraded to the status of Captain and in June 1980, Janes was Captain of the first all African American flight crew at FedEx.
In August 1987, he became the first African American Check Airman and Instructor Pilot at FedEx and approximately two years later, in February 1989, he became the first African American Assistant Chief Pilot (ACP) and Flight Manager at FedEx Express. His last management position at FedEx was ACP/Flight Operations Duty Officer.
During his tenure at FedEx, Janes evaluated, interviewed, hired, managed, and trained many of the pilots that were being hired. Being one of the world largest freight carriers, the corporation employs approximately 4500 pilots.
FedEx operates a fleet of B727, B757, A300, A310, MD10, MD11, and B777 aircrafts that transport to nearly every continent in the world. Captain Janes continues to work for FedEx part-time as a member of the Pilot Hiring and Recruitment Department.
Janes has served as President of the Memphis Chapter of Tuskegee Airmen, Inc. since it was formed in 1997. He has been the Elections and Nominating Chairman of the Organization of Black Aerospace Professionals (OBAP) since 2001.
Organization of Black Aerospace Professionals
2014 Hall of Fame Honorees
The 2014 Hall of Fame Honorees have made notable contributions and achievements during their lengthy careers in aviation; but not without many struggles and sacrifices. Their legacies have become an integral part of history. It is because of their determination, perseverance and ambition that we are recognizing them as honorees in this years’ Hall of Fame. They are pioneers, trailblazers in their own right in the broad field of the aerospace industry, because of their courage and desire to pursue their occupation of
choice without being deterred.
These “honorees” forged on with tenacity when there were barriers and stood with fortitude when obstacles were placed in their paths. They have woven their achievements into the fabric of aerospace history, leaving behind a legacy for generations of African American aviators to come.
The Organization of Black Aerospace Professionals
Present the 2014 Hall of Fame Honorees:
Captain James Betts
Captain Anthony L. Copeland-Parker
Captain James L. Edwards
Captain Roscoe S. Edwards
Captain James Green
Captain Marlon Green
Captain David Harris
Brigadier General Leon A. Johnson (Ret.)
Captain Clovis Jones, Jr.
Captain Marvin Perry Jones
Mamie W. Mallory
Captain Bill Norwood
Captain Carroll M. Waters
Organization of Black Aerospace Professionals
2014 Founders and Pioneers Hall of Fame
Captain William R. Norwood
OBAP Founders and Pioneers Hall of Fame 2014 Inductee
Being a pioneer is ancient history to Captain William R. Norwood. As the first Black airline pilot United Airlines hired, in 1965, Norwood has long been comfortably settled in his role. “Acceptance has been good,” he said. “I personally haven’t had any problems. I try to do my job the best I can, and I haven’t had anyone question my abilities.”
When he was applying to airlines, Norwood had no experienced peers to guide him, but that’s not the case for young Blacks with their eyes on the sky these days. As the president of the Organization of Black Airline Pilots, Norwood was committed to helping “youths to become educationally prepared for life, to increase Black participation in aviation and to assist the Black airline pilot with special needs and concerns.”
Apart from his work with OBAP, Norwood visited 12 to 14 schools a year to help motivate students and emphasize the importance of working hard, focusing especially on younger children. With youngsters, “you have a person growing and getting a foundation and direction,” he said. “If you can make a difference early, the impact can be greater there. “The only way you have a choice in life is through education. I tell them to avoid the ‘quick fix’, and that if you want to have a successful life you have to sacrifice.”
Though there are now many more Blacks among the nation’s commercial pilots, they haven’t always been accepted. Black aviators who had flown in World War II were turned away when they sought jobs with commercial airlines after the war. It wasn’t until after Marlon Green sued Continental Airlines in 1963 that Black pilots began to be hired. Green’s case later reached the United States Supreme Court, which ruled that racial discrimination by the airlines was unconstitutional.
The turning point for voluntary hiring of Black pilots was passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. “Up until that time no major carrier had voluntarily hired Black pilots,” Norwood said. American Airlines became the first to hire a Black pilot when David Harris was included in the training class of December, 1964. Norwood started with United Airlines the next spring and began flying with United as a second officer on the DC-6, a propeller plane. After 2 1/2 years, he became a first officer, and then a captain.
Norwood became interested in flying while growing up in Centralia, Ill., inspired by his school principal, William Harold Walker, who had flown with the 99th Fighter Squadron in World War II, the first Black flying group of any consequence. “His eyes would light up when he talked about flying,” Norwood said. “Sometimes in school, when we wanted to distract him, we’d ask him about flying.”
Norwood began flying at Southern Illinois University, where he was in a reserve officer training program. After graduating in 1959, he served six years in the Air Force, flying B-52 bombers for the last four. Norwood’s role as one of the first Black commercial pilots is recognized in a Smithsonian exhibit called “Black Wings.” Norwood credits his parents and his wife, Molly, for helping him achieve his goals. “I think my family has made a great impact on my life. In rough times, if you don’t have someone to go to who believes in you and who you believe in, it’s bad. “We can’t forget who we are and where we came from. Status and all the physical things you can buy are very transitory, and if you’re not willing to help someone else, they’re not worth anything.”
Captain James Betts
OBAP Founders and Pioneers Hall of Fame 2014 Inductee
OBAP Founder, Captain James Betts, a pioneer in aviation, retired as a pilot from American Airlines (AA). Before being hired at AA as a pilot, he served in the Maryland Air National Guard for many years. He earned his flying experience while serving in the United States Air Force and at one point in his military career was stationed at Andrews Air Force Base, in Maryland.
He is one of the original charter members of the Organization of Black Airline Pilots, now the Orgnization of Black Aerospace Professionals. Mr. Betts serves with the Volunteers in Police Support Program of the Maryland State Police. Prior to serving in the military and volunteering in activities in the community, Mr. Betts pursued studies at the University of Maryland and Morgan State University, Balitmore Maryland.
Captain James L. Edwards
OBAP Founders and Pioneers Hall of Fame 2014 Inductee
As a commissioned 2nd Lieutenant, OBAP Founder James L. Edwards completed his Air Force pilot training. In his free time he flew the F-100F and the 101 Voodoo aircrafts. Edwards resigned from the United States Air Force in 1964 after experiencing more than his share of discriminatory practices, policies and racism. Shortly after his resignation, he moved his family back to Detroit and starting applying for flying jobs, while working as a plant manager at Chrysler Corporation at the Warren and Centerline Facility locations.
Once Edwards decided becoming a pilot was his desired occupation, he was determined to fly. During 1965-1966, 120 individuals, with no flying experience, were hired by United Airlines to fill pilot vacancies. These individuals, all White American males, had one year to
obtain their certification. When Edwards applied for those advertised positions, he was denied employment. By this time, the World War II Tuskegee Airmen veteran pilots had returned to the United States. Some of them wanted to be employed as commercial pilots, but the aviation industry was not ready to hire African American pilots. The widespread aviation industry discrimination practices were brought to the attention of the United States Justice Department who met with the Tuskegee Airmen, and encouraged Edwards to join in a class action lawsuit against United Airlines.
In 1976 a pending lawsuit against United Airlines, in which Edwards was a plaintiff, was settled and the judge decreed that Edwards’ qualifications—type ratings and flight experience qualified him to enroll in the next United Airlines pilot class. That same year, he completed all of his civilian pilot ratings, including commercial instructor and multiengine. Edwards applied to United and passed the qualifying test with flying colors. The airline was ready to hire him until they realized he was African American, then suggested he get some heavy multi-engine flying time. To overcome another barrier, he earned an engineer’s rating in only two days. During the court proceedings, Edwards founded AERO Services, which was two-fold, a freight transport company and a flight school. The decree opened the door of opportunity for minorities and women in all occupations at United Airlines.
Captain James L. Edwards, fondly known as “Jim,’” retired from United Airlines in March 2000. He is one of the founding members of the Organization of Black Airline Pilots. Edwards was elected President of the Detroit Chapter of the Tuskegee Airmen in 2003. He was enshrined in the Michigan Aviation Hall of Fame on October 11, 2003.
Captain Carroll M. Waters
OBAP Founders and Pioneers Hall of Fame 2014 Inductee
OBAP Pioneer Captain Carroll M. Waters joined the United States Army in 1958 after graduating college as a second lieutenant. The decade that was to follow that decision was to be ingrained in his mind for the rest of his life.
Waters reported to his first assignment as a Nike Commander at Air Defense Camp. In 1960, he applied to the US Army Aviation Center of Excellence in Fort Rucker, Alabama, and soon after worked his way through Primary and Advance training. During that training, one of Water’s teachers was an original Tuskegee Airman—Walter Crenshaw. Waters will never forget the experiences that he had with Mr. Crenshaw and all that he taught him.
In 1965 Waters recalls that he took his first trip into Hell - Viet Nam—as a combat pilot. Waters flew a CV2B, which was a two-engine, short take-off and landing plane. Though he did not step foot on the ground as others had, fighting the tangles of twisted trees in the jungles that seemed to have no exit and stomping through swampy rice paddies that seemed to span on forever, did not make his time there any more pleasant.
Waters completed his objective and was released with an honorable discharge from the theatre in 1966. He was awarded a Bronze Star, an Air Medal, a National Defense Service Medal, a Viet Nam Service Medal and a Viet Nam Campaign ribbon for his efforts.
Following his tour, Waters made sure that all of his certifications were current, that he had the hours to fly the plane that he needed to, then started flying as a Captain on a DA-20, also known as a Falcon. Soon afterwards, Federal Express moved from Little Rock, Arkansas to Memphis, Tennessee. On his first night in Memphis there were twenty packages compared to the millions of packages FedEx ships today. For twenty-three years Waters flew for FedEx, flying around the world and seeing for himself as he put it, “the sky really wasn’t the limit.”
In July of 1996, on his sixtieth birthday, Captain Carroll Waters retired from FedEx with 13,000+ flying hours to show for it. According to Captain Waters, “It was an amazing experience and I wouldn’t trade it for the world.”
Captain Marlon Green
OBAP Founders and Pioneers Hall of Fame 2014 Inductee
Aviation pioneer, Captain Marlon Green, began his flying career in the United States Air Force (USAF). Green was a member of the 36th Air Rescue Squadron at Johnson Air Force Base in Tokyo, Japan. As an Air Force pilot, Green logged 3,071 hours in multi-engine bombers and cargo planes.
Green was passionate about making flying a life-long career. In 1957, while on leave from the Air Force, he saw an advertisement seeking qualified pilots to fly for Continental Airlines. Green applied for the position and became one of six individuals selected for an interview. On his application he did not check the box identifying race or ethnicity. Although he was the most qualified tested, among the six applicants with over 3,000 flying hours, the five White American male pilots with less qualifications and with only approximately 1000 hours of flying per candidate were hired for the jobs.
Green did not stop at Continental Airlines, he applied for positions at United, Pan American, Eastern, Western and other carriers, but was denied. After processing the reality of blatant discrimination he filed a complaint in June 1957 with the Colorado Anti- Discrimination Commission. While the case was moving through the appellate system, Green found employment through a variety of flying jobs, when he could find them, and odd non-flying jobs when he could not. His determination, perseverance and belief in the right to live his own life with respect, dignity and equality was his motivation to continue.
On March 28, 1963, the Supreme Court ruled on the Colorado Anti-Discrimination Commission. Continental Air Lines, Inc. by ordering Continental Airlines to enroll Marlon Green in its next pilot class, making Green the first African American to be hired by a major US airline. That decision opened the doors for minorities, especially African Americans, to join the workforce and live their dreams. Green made his first flight in March 1964 as a co-pilot.
Green saw his actions not as a political act, but more of a personal goal. His efforts changed the culture of the aviation industry. Green retired from Continental Airlines after a 14-year tenure and he died in 2009 at the age of 80. On February 9, 2010, in a special ceremony
at Bush Intercontinental Airport, Continental Airlines named one of its aircraft after the late Captain Marlon Green to honor him.
Captain James Green
OBAP Founders and Pioneers Hall of Fame 2014 Inductee
OBAP Founder Captain James Green, known respectfully as “Captain,” had a passion for airplanes and flying, a love that developed in his early youth when he began building model aircraft and volunteered at a local hangar, then later worked there for pay.
Green joined the United States Air Force (USAF) in 1951 during the Korean War. While in the USAF, he completed his basic training at Sampson AFB, Geneva, New York. Prior to entering flight school at age 19 at the rank of Air Force Aviation Cadet, he completed a stint as an Aerial Gunner on the B 29. At age 20, after Pre-flight at Lackland AFB, Primary at Hondo, Texas and Basic at age 20, he graduated as a fighter pilot, flying F-86s then F-100s for the 48 Fighter Bomber Wing in Chaumont, France.
After returning to the United States to work toward his goal to become a test pilot, Green attended California Poly Tech Institute and later graduated from Northrop Institute of Technology. Green worked at Vandenberg AFB, Pacific Missile Range, first as a writer of test plans to fire the Atlas missile and later as a Design Engineer on the Atlas missile. Later, he worked at Douglas Aircraft in Long Beach, California. During this time, he joined the Air Force Reserve. As a Major, he became one of the first Air Force reservists to fly Active Duty aircraft. He made numerous flights to Viet Nam between 1963 - 1967, first flying the C-119s, and then advancing to the C-141s, “Star Lifter,” which he flew until the war ended. He left the Air Force Reserve in 1980.
In 1966, he joined American Airlines as a flight engineer on the Boeing 707. During his tenure at American he flew the DC- 10, B-727 and the MD 80. After attaining the rank of Captain, Green flew the MD-80, DC-10, B-727, B-747, B-757 and the B-767. Green flew international flights to Europe, South America, the Caribbean, Mexico and Tokyo. In 1983, he reached the pinnacle of his career as a Test Pilot at the American Airlines Maintenance Center in Tulsa, Oklahoma.
Green hoped to bring the opportunity of an aviation career to others through the James Green Flying Club and he also enjoyed membership with the American Airlines Grey Eagles, the Organization of Black Airline Pilots, the Black Pilots Association, and the Experimental Aircraft Association. Captain J.H. Green died in December 2011 in Tulsa, Oklahoma.
Captain David Harris
OBAP Founders and Pioneers Hall of Fame 2014 Inductee
David Harris became aware of his potential and the opportunities associated with flying as a result of his participation in the United States Air Force ROTC Program at Ohio State University. As a member of the AFROTC Harris was not considering becoming a pilot. Harris believes that his early interest in flying came as a “matter of chance and circumstance.” “I cannot remember having a burning desire to be a pilot as a young boy,” Harris said.
Maybe the desire to fly was in his mind, but other than World War II Veterans, especially the Tuskegee Airmen who were still active in the military at the time, there were no visible minority pilot role models in the commercial aviation industry.
While in the AFROTC Harris learned that there was an opportunity to receive a second lieutenant’s commission rank and go into the US Air Force to learn to fly. Flying lessons would have been prohibitive and very costly for him, otherwise, and flying airplanes for the government, at that time, seemed like a great idea. After much thought, Harris realized that learning to fly at the expense of the government was a great bargain. He applied and completed Advanced AFROTC at Ohio State University and received his commission.
In June of 1958, David Harris joined the United States Air Force as a Second Lieutenant. His service career started one year after Marlon Green filed his court case to gain employment as a pilot at Continental Airlines. A little over a year after Green starting flying for Continental, Harris ended his military career—in December of 1964.
Harris went on to become the first Black pilot hired by American Airlines where he worked until he retired after many years of service.
Captain Marvin Perry Jones
OBAP Founders and Pioneers Hall of Fame 2014 Inductee
OBAP Founder, Captain Marvin Perry Jones joined David E. Harris, John Gordon and Woodie Fountain as a “first” Black pilot hired by a major commercial airline when he was hired by Pan American World Airways in late 1965.
Born in Cartersville, Virginia and educated in Montclair, New, Jersey, Jones studied mechanical and aeronautical engineering at the University of Pittsburgh. Earning his degree in 1959, Jones immediately joined Lockheed Aircraft Corporation in Burbank, California, as an associate design engineer. Jones’ stay would be short, as he began navigational training in the US Air Force the following year. Jones entered pilot training at Webb Air Force Base in Big Spring, Texas in 1962.
Vietnam became his next stage in life where he flew 126 missions during an eight month period in 1965. Three months later he broke the color barrier becoming the first Black pilot with Pan Am. During the course of his 26-year tenure with the airline, he truly had a global flying experience.
Jones was stationed in Berlin, Germany, and while there he coached the Berlin American Flight School track and field team and became fluent in German. Additionally, he is fluent in Spanish and speaks Japanese. During his career, which includes flying for Delta Airlines, he accumulated more than 26,000 flight hours in a multitude of jet aircraft, including the Boeing 707, 720, 727, 747, Lockheed L-1011 and the Airbus 310.
A noted speaker, panelist, workshop presenter and university lecturer, Jones has spoken on topics from “Minorities in Aviation” to “Your Triple “A” Plan for Success”. Jones is a former national president of the Organization of Black Airline Pilots.
Brigadier General Leon A. Johnson (Ret.)
OBAP Founders and Pioneers Hall of Fame 2014 Inductee
Leon Johnson retired from the U.S. Air Force with the rank of Brigadier General after 33 years of service. During his AF Career, General Johnson commanded a fighter squadron, fighter group, was the Vice Commander of 10th Air Force at the Joint Reserve Base in Ft. Worth, TX and served as Mobilization Assistant to the Assistant Secretary of the Air Force and Director Operations at Air Education and Training Command.
A command pilot with over 3500 hours of military flying time in the T-37 trainer, A-37 and A-10 fighter aircraft including missions over Bosnia in support of Operation Deny Flight. Following the events of 9/11, the general served as a Director of the Air Force Crisis Action Team in Pentagon.
General Johnson retired from United Parcel Service (UPS) after nearly 20 years of service. During his time with UPS, he served as the Flight Operations Employment Manager, A300 Training Manager and concluded his career working on a special project as the Manager of Airline Manuals. At UPS, he flew the B727 and the A300-600 aircraft. Prior to UPS, he worked for Trans World Manuals as a line pilot and Pilot Hiring Manager, Flying the B727 aircraft. At both airlines, he amassed over 3500 hours of flight time.
In December 2013 the General concluded a six-year appointed as a member of the US National Academies of Science and Engineering, Naval Studies Board. During that time he participated on five research studies and is currently involved in a U.S. Army sponsored study on logistics.
In 2011 General Johnson was awarded a Doctorate in Humane Letters by Tuskegee University. In November 2011, he received an appointment by the Secretary of the Air Force to the Civil Air Patrol (CAP) Board of Governors, the senior policy making body for CAS as established by Public Law.
In 2009 General Johnson was selected as a Trustee of the U.S. Air Force Academy Falcon Foundation. In November 2013 he was appointed to serve as a Governing Trustee of the Falcon Foundation.
General Johnson is a member of several organizations including the Air Force Association, Military Officers Association of America, Military Order of World Wars, Veterans of Foreign Wars, Reserve Office Association, League of United Latin American Citizens, Women in Aviation, Organization of Black Aerospace Professionals, founding member of International Black Aerospace Council, Inc., and Tuskegee Airmen, Incorporated.
General Johnson was elected to his second two-year term as the Tuskegee Airmen, Incorporated National President in August of 2012.
Captain Clovis Jones, Jr.
OBAP Founders and Pioneers Hall of Fame 2012 Inductee
Captain Clovis Jones, Jr. is the current President and CEO of Pinnacle Peak Management Group, LLC, current Vice President of the Arizona Chapter of the Vietnam Helicopters Pilots Association, Inc. (VHPA) and Vice President, United States Army Black Aviation Association, Inc.; and former Vice President of Mentoring, On Wings of Eagles Foundation, Inc.; former Vice President Western Region, Tuskegee Airmen, Inc. (TAI); former President, Archer–Ragsdale Arizona Chapter, Tuskegee Airmen, Inc.; and, former President of
The Organization of Black Airline Pilots, Inc. (OBAP) now known as the Organization of Black Aerospace Professionals, Inc. Under his leadership, OBAP made great strides in advancing and enhancing the participation of African Americans and other minorities in various aviation career fields, especially pilots. During his presidency, he proposed a plan that would have 10,000 African American pilots employed by the airlines by the year 2020. Captain Jones has also served as OBAP Vice President, Secretary, and Convention Chairman. He has conducted several Aviation Career Education Academy Camps (Ace Camps) and participated in various Summer Flight Academies. His public speaking appearances to advance youth participation in aviation have included schools, colleges, radio and television appearances. He is currently living in Scottsdale, AZ where his business is located.
Captain Jones is a retired MD-11/MD-10 Captain with FedEx Express, headquartered in Memphis, Tennessee with over 11,800 flight hours. He was a FedEx pilot for almost 22 years and held the positions of Second Officer Boeing 727, First Officer DC-10, and Captain Boeing 727.
Prior to accepting his position at FedEx, Captain Jones held positions as a fixed wing and helicopter Pilot for Hughes Helicopters, Flight Test Department, a division of the Summa Corporation headquartered in Las Vegas, Nevada working on the AH-64 (Apache) Attack Helicopter Program (now Boeing Helicopters, Mesa, Arizona); Corporate Pilot for Xerox Corporation; Second Officer for Western Airlines (which is now part of Delta Air Lines); and First Officer for Air California (which is now part of American Airlines). Captain Jones is a Morehouse College alumni; a graduate of the Global Leadership Certificate Program, and Finance for Global Managers Programs at Thunderbird School of International Management in Glendale, Arizona.
Captain Jones received his initial flight training in the U.S. Army, is a Vietnam Veteran with two tours of duty, serving the first as an Airborne Infantryman with the 1st Air Cavalry Division experiencing combat during the famed Pleiku Campaign and Ia Drang Valley Battles with the 1st Battalion, 8th Cavalry (Airborne), the second tour as an Attack Helicopter Pilot and Instructor Pilot flying the Huey Gunship and Cobra Attack Helicopter with the 101st Airborne Division’s 4th Battalion, 77th Aerial Rocket Artillery Battalion. He retired from military service as a dual rated Master Army Aviator with the rank of Major and is the recipient of the Combat Infantry Badge, a Bronze Star, 20 Air Medals with one “V” Device (the ‘V’ Device was awarded for saving a firebase from being overrun during the middle of the night), two Army Commendation Medals, the Presidential Unit Citation and several other awards, decorations, and commendations. His 46-year aviation career includes nine years of active Army duty, sixteen years of Army National Guard aviation service; and the remainder as a private, corporate and professional airline pilot.
Born and reared in Dawson, Georgia, Captain Jones has one son. His hobbies include golf, hiking, music, photography, reading, world travel, and various other sports including rugby.
Mamie W. Mallory
OBAP Founders and Pioneers Hall of Fame 2014 Inductee
Mamie W. Mallory is the Assistant Administrator for Civil Rights (ACR) for the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). In that capacity, she is the principal advisor to the Administrator on civil rights, equal employment opportunity, diversity, and affirmative action. She serves as the FAA Diversity Advocate and leads the agency’s efforts to create a positive environment that supports and encourages the contributions of all employees. In addition, Mallory manages Agency efforts to ensure the elimination of unlawful discrimination in federally-operated and -assisted FAA transportation programs at airports.
Prior to joining ACR, and throughout her career, Mamie has many years of experience serving as an advocate for Civil Rights and Diversity. She has committed herself to ensure accessibility, opportunity, and advancement to all.
Mallory served as FAA’s Director of Aviation Logistics in the Regions and Center Organization. As Director, she led and integrated FAA’s logistics initiatives and provided solutions for real property management issues. She also directed the Department of Transportation (DOT) and FAA real property management efforts in coordination with the Office of Management and Budget and the DOT Assistant Secretary for Administration.
Mallory is a graduate of the Air Traffic Organization (ATO) pilot Senior Leadership Development Program. She worked, on detail, as the acting Staff Manager, Terminal Operations Washington District while in the program. Other career assignments included acting Manager, ATO Performance Measures Division, acting Deputy Director Operational Evolution Staff, and Manager, Resource and Financial Management for the Free Flight Program Office.
Throughout her career, Mallory has been recognized with numerous awards for outstanding agency and community contributions, including: the prestigious Meritorious Executive Presidential Rank Award; the Secretary of Transportation Outstanding Achievement Gold Medal; the Secretary of Transportation Extraordinary Woman of DOT; the Secretary of Transportation “Find the Good and Praise It” Award; Conference of Minority Transportation Officials “Trailblazer” Award; the FAA Administrator’s Award for
Excellence in Equal Employment Opportunity; the General Service Administration National Capital Region “Customer of the Year” Award; the DOT Assistant Secretary for Administration “Civil Rights” Award; the FAA “Civil Rights and Diversity” Award; the Assistant Administrator for Regions and Center ISO 9000 “Quality” Award; the National Federation of Black Women Business Owners “Career Achievement” Award; and the Careers and the Disabled magazine’s “Employee of the Year.”
Additionally, the National Black Coalition of Federal Aviation Employees honored her by creating, the “Mamie W. Mallory “ Education and Scholarship Foundation.
She holds a Master of Science degree in Engineering Management from The George Washington University, a Bachelor of Science degree in Chemical Engineering from North Carolina State University, and a Professional Certificate in Facility Management from George Mason University.
Mallory is also an alumna of the Office of Personnel Management’s (OPM) Federal Executive Institute and Leadership Greater Washington, class of 2008.
Captain Anthony L. Copeland-Parker
OBAP Founders and Pioneers Hall of Fame 2014 Inductee
After two years at University of Pennsylvania, Captain Anthony L. Copeland-Parker left college to pursue his Aviation Career. In 1977 he enrolled at Spartan School of Aeronautics in Tulsa, Oklahoma. With 200 hours, Tony began his expansive Aviation career with Wheeler Airlines in 1979, the first and only airline owned and managed by African Americans. During his tenure, he was instrumental in the expansion to Wheeler Regional Airlines, which offered additional service in the Carolina’s and the Northeast. Like himself, many African American Pilots started their careers at Wheeler.
In 1998, Tony left his position as Vice President and Director of Operation at Wheeler to join United Parcel Service as a B727 Flight Engineer. Shortly after, Tony rose to Management, where he held a wide range of positions within Flight Operations, including B727 Flight Training Supervisor, Flight Finance Supervisor and Contingency Supervisor.
In 1992 to celebrate Black History Month, Tony, along with seven other UPS African American crewmembers, flew on the same day in three different Aircraft types. This was a milestone in Black Aviation history to have three all-black crews flying for one major carrier.
In 1994, Tony served as Rockford Assistant Chief Pilot, where he opened the Rockford Flight Operations Center. With his move back to Louisville, Kentucky in 1997, Tony was promoted to DC8 Flight Training Manager, DC8 Flight Standards Manager, Louisville Chief Pilot and B757/767 Flight Training Manager. In 2004, his B757/767 Training team transitioned the B757/767 as the first fleet to AQP. In 2008 Tony held several positions. Those included B757/767 Chief Pilot, Labor Manager, Standards and Planning Chief Pilot. In those positions Tony initiated the Top 5 Safety Risks for the Airline, incorporated the Flight Crew Risk Analysis, Fuel Conservation Web Site, and the Crew Member Currency and Qualification Requirement. He also had a brief stint as A300 Chief Pilot in 2009.
In 2010 he returned as the B757/767 Chief Pilot and held that position for 2 years. During the past 2½ years, Tony’s most recent position has been the MIA/South America, PHL/European Chief Pilot. Tony’s personal achievement includes completing 52 Marathons in 35 States and 8 different countries. He has also completed the JFK 50 mile Endurathon and the Louisville Iron Man Triathlon. His goals are to complete a total of 60 marathons by the age of 60 and a marathon in all 50 states.
Tony has also been involved with Brooklawn Child and Family Service—now USPIRITUS—in Louisville, Kentucky, a United Way Agency, since 1997. In 2008, Tony ran 26.6 miles from his home to work that morning to raise money and awareness for Brooklawn.
Captain Roscoe S. Edwards
OBAP Founders and Pioneers Hall of Fame 2014 Inductee
Roscoe S. Edwards was born on July 11, 1948 in Austin, TX. As a young man he attended Texas Southern University, an HBCU institution, where he earned a Bachelor of Science Degree in Airway Science Management. He has come full circle after a remarkable aviation career and is now a faculty member at Texas Southern University. Captain Edwards is now the Director of Flight Operations of the aviation program. He currently resides in Houston, TX with his wife of 46 years, Dorothy Edwards who is a retired assistant police chief from the Houston Police department after 35 years.
Together they have three sons consisting of an aircraft mechanic with United Airlines, a Dr. of Pharmacist at Ben Taube hospital and a West Point graduate who is a Lt. Col in the JAG. They also have 4 grandsons and 1 granddaughter. Captain Edwards has been recognized with numerous awards and commendations for his work in the aviation industry and in his community.
Captain Edwards is the definition of the word Pioneer. CAP, as he is referred to by those who know him, has been a true legend in his own right. Capt. Edwards began his aviation career after obtaining his flight ratings with Britt Airways. He was the first African American Pilot hired at Britt Airways and upgraded to Captain in three months. Capt. Edwards flew with Britt Airways until joining Orion Air flying freight on the DC-9.
Because of his fire and determination to see more minorities have access and exposure to a field that had long been denied to African Americans, Capt. Edwards and his wife used their personal finances to purchase a Cessna 150 Aircraft and started the first African American non-profit flight school in the Southwest Region. Along with this endeavor Roscoe found the time to become a designated pilot examiner for the FAA. He was the first African American examiner in the Southwest Region.
Capt. Edwards was hired by Continental Airlines in 1987 and spent 25 very successful years as a pilot with Continental Airlines. During that time, Roscoe was instrumental in numerous endeavors. Roscoe was selected to participate in the hiring process at Continental, giving him the opportunity to help ensure the hiring of minority pilots. He helped increase the minority hiring significantly. With the help of management, Roscoe was able to establish the Niscey Osborne scholarship, which awarded scholarships to pilots seeking employment at CA. Capt. Edwards was instrumental in getting Continental to honor Captain Marlin Green (the first African American pilot to be hired by a U.S. career) by dedicating aircraft N77518 to Capt. Green.
Capt. Edwards was also part of the team of OBAP members and the Kellogg Foundation to develop an ab-inito flight training program at Western Michigan University. This program has been able to place a majority of the students in careers as pilots with numerous airlines. Roscoe continues to strive for diversity and growth in aviation; he has joined his Alma Mater, Texas Southern University as Director of Flight Operations. Texas Southern University’s Aviation Program has achieved certification as a part 141 school in February 2014.
Organization of Black Aerospace Professionals
2015 Hall of Fame Honorees
The 2015 Hall of Fame Honorees have collectively contributed more than 111 years of service to the United States Armed Forces dating back to 1942. Many went on to lead successful and influential civilian lives in commercial
aviation and as community volunteers.
Facing opposition in multiple wars, gender equality and race relations; these notable individuals are being honored for their unwavering commitment to their careers, notwithstanding trials and many triumphs.
Deserved military awards including two Purple Hearts and a Congressional Gold Medal, record-making firsts in aviation, biographical books and a Hollywood motion picture inspired by the lives of some of these distinguished inductees serve as testaments to the impact these individuals continue to have on the African American community and our entire country.
Undoubtedly they have forged ahead in trying times and turbulent winds. Their courage and determination in the eye of adversity prove why they are more than deserving of a place amongst comrades and fellow way makers (or history makers).
The Organization of Black Aerospace Professionals
Present the 2015 Hall of Fame Honorees:
Captain Sidney L. Clark, Jr.
Captain Bennie J. Clay Jr.
Sheila L. Chamberlain
Lieutenant General Russell C. Davis
Major General Stayce D. Harris
Lieutenant Colonel Alexander Jefferson
Lieutenant Colonel Tony Marshall
Organization of Black Aerospace Professionals
2015 Founders and Pioneers Hall of Fame
Captain Bennie J. Clay Jr.
OBAP Founders and Pioneers Hall of Fame 2015 Inductee
Bennie J Clay Jr., the eldest of five siblings was born to Naomi and Bennie Sr. on February 24, 1944 in Enid, Oklahoma. It was tumultuous times in the South for blacks and his parents made a decision to relocate to Wichita, Kansas in 1953. It was there at the young age of six that Clay’s romance with aviation began. Wichita is often referred to as “The air capital of the world” because of its extensive aviation activity. It was in Wichita that his passion for airplanes and quest for learning to fly heightened. Clay recalls many times as a youngster riding his bicycle 10 miles to the nearest airport to watch airplanes take off and land. It was on one of those trips that he was noticed at the fence by a young man known as Ulysses “Rip” Gooch. He asked Clay if he would like an airplane ride. After that ride, he was hooked, aviation was his destiny.
Gooch was a Black aviator and airport Manager in the 50’s, which was very rare. With his encouragement, Clay continued to move forward, and Gooch was always a mentor to him. Clay feels that this is the reason he continues to mentor today with the Organization of Black Aerospace Professionals (OBAP), Black Pilots of America (BPA) and Experimental Aircraft Association: Young Eagle Program (EAA).
After graduating from high school Clay joined the navy, giving 6 years of service to our country. For two of those years he was in active duty on the Aircraft Carrier USS Hornet. The Hornet spent most of her time in the early 60’s touring the South Pacific, including Vietnam. Once honorably discharged from the Navy in 1964, Clay returned to Wichita and attended Wichita State University, majoring in Aeronautical Engineering. While a student, Clay was diligently working on building flight time for his airline career by delivering new airplanes for Cessna and Beechcraft Corporations.
Clay feels that the face of the discriminating culture that prevails in our country emerged when he began seeking employment within the commercial airline industry. He had completed years of training and knowledge in piloting, yet, he experienced rejection after rejection after sending in his photo, which was required on the application at that time. Clay witnessed one White applicant after another less qualified than him being hired so he decided it was past time for him to take some serious action. So he wrote to the president of the United States. An excerpt from his letter to President Lyndon B. Johnson read: “Dear Mr. President, my name is Bennie J. Clay Jr. and I reside in Wichita Kansas. I am currently having a very difficult time being hired by the airlines as a pilot. You should know that I am African American and I believe my race is the cause of my ongoing rejections. Recently, both my White counterpart and I applied at the same time to a major airline. Although I had much more flight experience and education, he was hired and I was not. I am asking for your help in resolving this situation.”
According to Clay, within one month, a representative from Washington DC was at the front door of his home to take his deposition. Shortly thereafter, Clay received a call from the airline for an interview, but by that time, he had already been hired by Trans World Airlines (TWA) in 1967. A class action suit was brought against the airline in the late 70’s for discrimination in hiring of minorities. The airline lost the suit and had to make restitution to all injured parties.
Clay’s career at TWA included normal progression from Flight Engineer, to Co-pilot and subsequently, Captain. During his career he was rated on the Douglas Super 80, Boeing-727, B757, B767 and B747. As a TWA check-airman, flight instructor, and FAA designee, Clay line trained and flight checked many pilots for TWA and American Airlines. TWA and American Airlines merged in April 2001 and after 35 years with TWA and 2 years with American, Clay retired in February of 2004. Clay feels he had a very rewarding career in commercial Aviation and he feels blessed that he was able to complete a career doing something that he was passionate about and loved.
After Retirement, Clay uses his talent to volunteer for Angel Flight West (AFW) a 31-year-old organization of volunteer Pilots, offering the gift of flight to thousands of stricken children and adults. AFW volunteer pilots donate their time and all their expenses to provide access to treatment at faraway medical centers to the needy, as well as many other humanitarian missions. He is the proud father of two sons, Bennie J. Clay III and Christopher Clay, and grandfather to Sophia Clay.
A founding member of Organization of Black Airline Pilots, Inc. (OBAP), Clay also holds memberships with Black Pilots of America (BPA), California Redtails (a chapter of BPA), Black Aviation Airline Pioneers (BAAP), Airline Pilots Association (ALPA), Aircraft Owners & Pilots Association (AOPA), Experimental Aircraft Association (EAA), and American Bonanza Society (ABS).
Captain Sidney L. Clark, Jr.
OBAP Founders and Pioneers Hall of Fame 2015 Inductee
Captain Sidney L. Clark, Jr. developed his love for flying as a young child in Mississippi. He knew as early as his first day in kindergarten that he wanted to be a pilot. There were no African American commercial pilots at the time, but Clark decided that when you’re passionate about something, you don’t recognize the difficulty.
He began taking flying lessons at the age of 16, which he funded himself. He obtained a private pilot license while in high school, which required a minimum of 40 hours of flight time and cost about $12 an hour at the time.
He attended Swarthmore College in Pennsylvania where he studied philosophy and engineering and earned a Bachelor’s degree in Philosophy and later a Master of Business Administration from Hugh McCell School of Business at Queen’s University in Charlotte, North Carolina.
After college he decided to earn his commercial pilot’s license despite being told by an instructor that he would never be hired because he was black. His love of flying is what motivated him to study in Florida and earn his commercial license, which gave him the opportunity to fly passenger and cargo planes.
Clark secured a job with US Airways and quickly began to move up the ranks. He became the first African American Chief pilot for a major commercial carrier in an industry where less than 3% of all pilots are African American. He was one of original founders of the Organization of Black Airline Pilots.
Captain Clark is active in his community, serving on several civic boards and as a motivational speaker to various youth organizations.
Sheila L. Chamberlain
OBAP Founders and Pioneers Hall of Fame 2015 Inductee
Sheila L. Chamberlain grew up in West Germany, graduated from Fort Knox High School and received her B.A. degree from Spelman College in Atlanta, Georgia with Post graduate studies in Public Administration from the University of Oklahoma and earned her J.D. from the University Of Miami School Of Law. The daughter of a retired US Army Combat Engineer and mother who was business owner, nurse and 27 year military wife, Ms. Chamberlain pursued a United States Army career and became the Army’s first African American Woman Combat Intelligence Pilot.
Ms. Chamberlain served on active duty during the Grenada/Panama Invasion and the Persian Gulf War with three tours in the Republic of Korea and Latin America. She is a General George C. Marshall Award Winner and Distinguished Military Graduate (Georgia Tech); graduate of the US Army Counterintelligence Human Intelligence Course, US Army Aviation Flight School, Army Medical Department (AMEDD) Schools, Joint Aerospace Command and Control Course, Army Combined Arms Service Staff College and the Marine Corp Command and General Staff College. Ms. Chamberlain’s distinctive military career includes 15 years of service in the U.S. and abroad, two command posts and numerous civilian and military honors including the National Defense Service Medal and the Meritorious Service Medal and The Tuskegee Airmen Blades award. During flight school she became the sole mentee of the famous Willa Brown Chappell, the first African American woman to run for the U.S. Congress and historical American Aviatrix. She later became a member of the Fort Rucker Chapter of Tuskegee Airmen Incorporated, honoring the legacy of her cousin, the famous Memphis Bomber Luke Weathers who was one of the original Tuskegee Airman with the 332nd Fighter Group.
Later in her career, her unit was sent to stabilize South Florida after the aftermath of Hurricane Andrew which is considered the worst disaster in American History. It was during her time in South Florida that she decided to leave the Army. Prior to leaving, she was asked to come before various members of the Congressional House of Representatives Armed Services Committee to give information on why women pilots should be assigned to combat aviation units.
When asked if she wanted to stay to continue her career, she responded “I have survived and hopefully this will open the door for future women who just want to fly for their country.” One year after leaving, the Department of Defense officially declared that women would be allowed to fly combat aviation aircraft throughout the services.
Today, she remains politically active and mentors young people toward success- including those who seek careers in aviation.
Lieutenant General Russell C. Davis
OBAP Founders and Pioneers Hall of Fame 2015 Inductee
Lieutenant General Russell C. Davis (ret.) served as Chief, National Guard Bureau in Arlington, Virginia. As Chief, he served as the senior uniformed National Guard officer responsible for formulating, developing and coordinating all policies, programs and plans affecting more than half a million Army and Air National Guard personnel.
Appointed by the President, General Davis served as the principal adviser to the Secretary and Chief of Staff of the Army, and the Secretary and Chief of Staff of the Air Force on all National Guard issues. As NGB chief, he served as the Army’s and Air Force’s official channel of communication with the governors and adjutants general.
General Davis began his military career in the U.S. Air Force in 1958 as an aviation cadet. Following pilot training, he was assigned at Lincoln Air Force Base, Nebraska. Davis’ assignments included strategic bombardment pilot, 4347th Combat Crew Training Wing, McConnell AFB, Kansas and bomber pilot, 344th Bomber Squadron, Lincoln Air Force Base, Nebraska. He was released from active duty in April 1965, when he joined the Iowa Air National Guard in Des Moines where he was a flight commander in the 124th Tactical Fighter Squadron, air operations officer, 132nd Tactical Fighter Group and Deputy Commander of Operations, Headquarters Iowa ANG, Des Moines to name a few of his assignments.
Davis has served in numerous command and staff positions. He was Executive to the Chief, National Guard Bureau, at the Pentagon in Washington, D.C. and Wing Commander of the 113th Tactical Fighter Wing, District of Columbia ANG at Andrews Air Force Base in Maryland prior to being appointed the Commanding General of the District of Columbia National Guard. The general was appointed Vice Chief of the NGB in December 1995.
Davis earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in general education from the University of Nebraska and a Juris Doctorate degree in law from Drake University. He is a former president of the Tuskegee Airmen, Inc.
Lieutenant Colonel Alexander Jefferson
OBAP Founders and Pioneers Hall of Fame 2015 Inductee
After graduating from Clark College in Atlanta, Georgia in 1942, 2nd Lieutenant Alexander Jefferson graduated from a pilot training course at Tuskegee Army Air Field in January 1944, followed by three months of combat training at Selfridge Field, Michigan.
Jefferson flew approximately 100 combat hours in a P-51c as a fighter pilot with the Red Tail, 332nd Fighter Group, 301st Fighter Squadron in Rametelli, Italy. In the course of providing protection from enemy aircraft, Lieutenant Jefferson flew 18 long range escort missions for B-17 and B-24 bombers. On Aug 12, 1944, three days prior to the invasion of Southern France, he was shot down by ground fire while strafing radar stations on the coast. Captured by German troops and interned for nine months as a prisoner of war, Jefferson spent five months in Stalag Luft III, 80 miles east of Berlin on the Odor River.
On January 29, 1945 when the Russians started their offensive, the prisoners; American, British and French, were transferred to Stalag VIA, Mooseburg, approximately 20 miles north of Dachau. Liberated by American forces on 29th of April 1945, Jefferson visited Dachau to witness the results of the atrocities committed by the Nazis.
Jefferson was discharged from active duty in 1947 and retired from the USAir Force Reserves in 1969 with the rank of Lieutenant Colonel after 21 years of service and 4 years in the US Army Air Corp of World War II. His awards are many, having received his Pilot’s Wings, Class 44A in January 1944, after which he has earned throughout his career, the Air Medal, Purple Heart, Prisoner of War Medal, American Defense Service Medal, American Campaign Medal, European/Africa/Middle East Campaign Medal, WWII Victory Medal, National Defense Reserve Medal, Armed Forces Service Medal and Air Force Longevity Service Award.
Following the war, Lieutenant Colonel Jefferson became an elementary school science teacher in the city of Detroit. He retired as an assistant principal in 1979. He authored his biography as a prisoner of war entitled, “Red Tail Captured; Red Tail Free”. He has also been featured in numerous documentaries about the Tuskegee Airmen.
Colonel Jefferson is one of the founders of the Detroit Chapter of the Tuskegee Airmen and is a member of the Tuskegee Airmen Speakers Bureau. He is an active member of various church, educational and alumni organizations. As a Life Member of the Silver Falcon Association, he serves on a voluntary basis as an Admissions Counselor for the United States Air force Academy and the Air Force R.O.T.C.
Jefferson is a Life Member of American Ex-Prisoner of War and is a Perpetual Member of the Military Order of the World Wars. On October 14, 1995, Dr. Jefferson was enshrined into the Michigan Aviation Hall of Fame. On March 29, 2007, Lieutenant Colonel Jefferson was one of several hundred Documented Original Tuskegee Airmen (DOTAs) to receive (as a group) the Congressional Gold Medal.
Lieutenant General Stayce D. Harris
OBAP Founders and Pioneers Hall of Fame 2015 Inductee
Lt. General Stayce D. Harris is the Assistant Vice Chief of Staff and Director, Air Staff, Headquarters U.S. Air Force, Washington, D.C. She also serves as Deputy Chairman of the Air Force Council, and is the Air Force accreditation official for the international Corps of Air Attachés.
General Harris received a commission in the Air Force through the University of Southern California’s Air Force ROTC program. She served on active duty until joining the Air Force Reserve in 1991. Her staff assignments include serving as mobility force planner for the Deputy Chief of Staff for Plans and Operations and as the Individual Mobilization Augmentee to the Deputy Assistant Secretary of the Air Force. She has commanded an airlift squadron, an expeditionary operations group, an air refueling wing and a numbered air force. Prior to her current position, Gen Harris served as the Commander, 22d Air Force, Dobbins ARB, Georgia.
Lieutenant Colonel Tony Marshall
OBAP Founders and Pioneers Hall of Fame 2015 Inductee
Tony Marshall was born in Washington, DC in 1946, and raised on a tobacco farm in nearby Maryland. He graduated from Frederick Douglass High School, Upper Marlboro, MD in 1964, and was accepted by the US Air Force Academy, graduating in 1968. He completed Navigator training and Electronic Warfare Training and was assigned to the F-4 fighter aircraft. Following training at MacDill AFB, Florida, he was assigned to the 13th Squadron, Udorn Airbase, Thailand, flying combat missions in Southeast Asia.
On his 266th mission he was forced to eject over enemy territory and was captured. A Captain at the time, Tony was held as a POW from July 3, 1972 until his release on March 29, 1973. Upon his return to active duty, Captain Marshall completed pilot training and was assigned to the F-4C at George AFB, California. He flew the F-4D at RAF Bentwaters, England, and then served as an Air Liaison Officer with the US Army in Frankfurt, Germany. He returned to the cockpit flying the F-4G Wild Weasel at Clark AB, The Philippines and George AFB, California.
After 22 years of service he retired as a Lieutenant Colonel, Command Pilot, with 480 hours of combat time, 3000 hours in the F-4, and 3600 hours total military flying time. His military awards include 4 Distinguished Flying Crosses, the Purple Heart, the Prisoner of War Medal, the Meritorious Service Medal, and 16 Air Medals. He has a Bachelor’s Degree in Mathematics, and a Masters Degree in Business Management. Following his retirement from active duty in 1990, Tony was hired by United Airlines and logged 12,000 hours flying the DC10, B747, and A320 aircraft out of Los Angeles. He retired from United in December 2006 and currently resides in Apple Valley, California. He has one daughter, Maria.
Tony served as a substitute teacher for ten years and currently volunteers as a mentor at the Academy for Academic Excellence in Apple Valley, Millionaire Mind Kids in Victorville, Tomorrow’s Aeronautical Museum in Compton, and is President of the California Chapter of Shades of Blue. He is a member of the Organization of Black Aerospace Professionals (OBAP) and a member of the Los Angeles Chapter of Tuskegee Airmen Inc. (TAI).
Organization of Black Aerospace Professionals
2016 Hall of Fame Honorees
The 2016 Hall of Fame Honorees are all founding members or early contributors to the formation of the Organization of Black Airline
Pilots, Inc., the organization from which the Organization of Black Aerospace Professionals, Inc. evolved.
Through adversity, these men created the mission, vision and foundation for the programs, educational opportunities and professional development its members experience today.
Their roots are broad and deep—an immigrant who left his home country to pursue the American dream, four military combat pilots who served their country during the Vietnam war, including the first black Naval Aviator to fly 100 combat missions, but they all share a common thread, their passion and love of flying.
The Organization is what it is today because of the contributions of these men. We salute them and we are proud to present the 2016 Hall of Fame Honorees.
The Organization of Black Aerospace Professionals
Present the 2016 Hall of Fame Honorees:
Captain Raymond Dothard
Captain Simon Patrick Gaskill
Captain Oscar Perry
Captain William C. Rand
Captain J. Georges Sulmers
Captain Benjamin F. Thomas
Organization of Black Aerospace Professionals
2016 Founders and Pioneers Hall of Fame
Captain Simon Patrick Gaskill
OBAP Founders and Pioneers Hall of Fame 2016 Inductee
Simon Patrick Gaskill graduated from the Agricultural and Technical College of North Carolina in 1965 with a major in Psychology and as a member of the United States Air Force Reserve Officers’ Training Corps (ROTC) program. While attending A&T in Greensboro, he became very active in the civil rights movement during the lunch counter sit-ins.
As the war in Vietnam escalated Simon proudly piloted the OV-10 aircraft, serving with the Rustic Forward Air Controllers in Southeast Asia and was one of America’s first African American B-52 pilots attaining the rank of Captain.
In the summer of 1970, Simon was hired by Eastern Airlines, joining a handful of African American commercial airline pilots. During his career with Eastern, he and fellow African American pilots formed the Organization of Black Airline Pilots where he served in several positions, including time spent at the youth summer camp in Tuskegee, Alabama.
While living in New York, Simon served as a mentor to college youth with the Congress of Racial Equality (CORE). After his retirement from Eastern Airlines, he became a member of the distinguished Tuskegee Airmen, Inc. – Virginia Tidewater Chapter, Board Member Youth Program, Rustic Forward Air Controllers and the Denbigh American Legion Post #368. He worked for Senator Max Cleland of Georgia as Veteran Affairs representative and was hired as Scout Reach Executive with the Colonial Virginia Boy Scout Council.
Simon’s volunteer work included Hampton, Virginia Military Affairs Committee, Y.H. Thomas Community Center, president of the Aggie Alumnus Williamsburg/Peninsula Chapter, NCA&T State University Booster Club, Little League baseball coach and coach of the undefeated Saints Peter and Paul School basketball team.
Simon was a faithful member of Saint Vincent de Paul Church in Newport News, Virginia where he served on the Parish Council, member of Knights of Peter Claver and was a Parish Lector. In 2006, he tossed his hat in the ring for the Hampton City Council. Simon enjoyed acting in stage productions, TV series and commercials. He leaves to cherish his memory his wife, Ree and children, Crystal, Simon and Nia.
Captain Raymond Dothard
OBAP Founders and Pioneers Hall of Fame 2016 Inductee
Raymond Dothard graduated form Tuskegee Institute in 1964 with a degree in Chemistry and a commission in the United States Air Force. While attending Tuskegee, he was taught to fly in the Flight Instruction Program facilitated by C. Alfred “Chief” Anderson.
Dothard completed USAF pilot training in February 1966. He flew a combat tour in Vietnam in F4C’s from September 1966 to June 1967. Dothard departed the Air Force in January 1971 and joined Eastern Airlines as a pilot.
He was an Eastern Airlines flight officer from January 1971 to June 1989. Dothard became a captain for Trump Shuttle in June of1989 until April 1992. He went on to fly as a captain for US Airways in April 1992 until December 2001.
Military flying expanded from November 1964 until September 1992. This included six and a half years with the active Air Force and the remainder with the Air National Guard. Over a 27 year period some of the military fighter jets he flew were F4c, F102, F101, F106 and F16.
Some leadership positions held by Dothard included Check Airman, Chief Pilot, US Airways, Squadron Commander and State Director of Operations for the New Jersey Air National Guard. He recalls one of the highlights of his career as a captain for Trump Shuttle, he flew the seven- day Nelson Mandela Freedom Charter in June 1990.
Dothard has been an avid supporter of OBAP from the beginning. He has served as a member and chairman of the Board of Directors.
Captain Oscar Perry
OBAP Founders and Pioneers Hall of Fame 2016 Inductee
Oscar Perry was born in Newark New Jersey April 23,1946. He graduated from South Side High School in 1964 and Bloomfield College in 1968 with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Mathematics. In September of that year, Perry joined the Navy in Pensacola, Florida. He received his wings in 1969 and proceeded to North Island, San Diego where he became an aircraft carrier commander on E1B flying aboard the US Ticonderoga.
Perry began his commercial pilot career as a First Officer flying the B727 for National Airlines in October 1973. He also flew the DC10. National merged with Pan American World Airways in 1980 where he flew the B727, A-300 and B747. When Pan Am closed its business in 1991, Perry, still a First Officer, moved to American Trans Air flying the B757 in February of 1992.
Perry became a Captain on the B727 and then the B757. He was a supervisory check captain on the B757 and had ratings on the B727, B757, B767 and the B747.
Perry retired in April of 2006. He recalls his most memorable flight, when he flew Senator Barack Hussein Obama from Los Angeles to Chicago’s Midway Airport and their conversation in the jetway as he deplaned. Perry is a Founder of the Organization of Black Airline Pilots.
Captain William C. Rand
OBAP Founders and Pioneers Hall of Fame 2016 Inductee
William C. Rand was born in Texarkana, Texas. After attending Texas Southern University, he joined the United States Air Force. Rand applied and was accepted into Aviation Cadet training, graduating in 1962 with a commission as a Second Lieutenant. After additional training, he served as a B-52 Navigator/Electronics Warfare Officer for four years, then was accepted into undergraduate pilot training.
Upon graduation, Rand was assigned to the C-141 Starlifter, flying passengers and cargo worldwide. In 1968, he transitioned to the OV-10 Bronco for combat in Vietnam, where he served as an OV-10 Forward Air Controller/Air Liaison Officer, attached to the United States Army’s Americal Division, stationed in Chu Lai, RVN.
Rand separated from the Active Air Force in 1972 to pursue a career in commercial aviation, but remained active in the Air Force Reserve, retiring in 1984 as a Lieutenant Colonel. Immediately upon active Air Force separation in May 1972, he was hired by Western Airlines where he was the fifth pilot of African American descent to work for the company. Western merged into Delta Air Lines in 1987, where he remained until the mandatory retirement age of 60 in 2001.
During Rand’s tenure at both Western and Delta, he flew every aircraft within the combined fleets, with the exception of the MD-88 and the MD-11, and was a check airman on the B-757 and B-767. Rand retired from Delta in January as an international captain, flying the Boeing 767-300ER from the JFK base.
After a successful career in aviation which spanned almost 40 years, Rand and his wife are enjoying retirement. They still travel extensively and divide their time between homes in Oakland, California, Incline Village, Nevada and Savannah, Georgia. While the aviation industry has been very good for his family, Rand’s two adult children are successfully following career paths outside of aviation.
Captain Benjamin F. Thomas
OBAP Founders and Pioneers Hall of Fame 2016 Inductee
When Benjamin Franklin Thomas was a child, he made airplanes out of paper and old handkerchiefs to make parachutes, little did he realize that he would take to the skies as an aviator.
Thomas attended the US Naval Academy, class of 1964. Each summer, all Midshipmen were introduced to the many aspects of Naval service. They spent time on various Naval vessels, including aircraft carriers and submarines. During the summer of 1963, Thomas spent time at Naval Air Station Sanford in Sanford, Florida. One day, he climbed into the cockpit of a F-8 Crusader and one of his classmates took a Polaroid photo of him. He kept that photo on his desk during his senior year. It was a daily reminder to him that he “looked good” in a fighter aircraft.
In February 1964, all senior Midshipmen had to declare a singular choice as to what aspect of the Navy they would serve. Although his heart was with the Marine Corps, he chose Navy Air. Initially, Thomas was in the Prop Pipeline. He was assigned to Naval Air Station Corpus Christi for advance training. He submitted a “dream sheet” to fly carrier based fighter aircraft. He was reassigned to NAS Kingsville, Texas for advance jet training. Upon completion of flight training, Thomas was assigned to the Replacement Air Group, NAS Lemoore, California and joined the Attack Squadron Twenty-Three, flying the Douglas A-4 Skyhawk. Thomas was deployed twice to the Gulf of Tonkin flying combat missions over North Vietnam and Laos. Thomas was the first black varsity basketball player in the US Naval Academy, the first black naval aviator to fly 100 combat missions and the first black naval aviator to eject from a jet aircraft.
Upon leaving the Navy, Thomas joined United Airlines in 1970. After being furloughed later that year, Thomas was hired by Eastern Airlines where he remained until 1991 when Eastern collapsed, then Continental Airlines where he was assigned to Continental Micronesia flying out of Guam until 2000.
He is a member of the Caterpillar Club, a member, of Frontiers International, Inc., Annapolis, Maryland Chapter, Chairman of the Human Relations Commission, Anne Arundel County, Maryland, Founder and President of the Organization of Black Airline Pilots, Inc. (currently, the Organization of Black Aerospace Professionals, Inc.).
Captain J. Georges Sulmers
OBAP Founders and Pioneers Hall of Fame 2016 Inductee
J. Georges Sulmers was born in Port-au-Prince, Haiti August 28,1946. He immigrated to the United States on December 29,1957. Sulmers attended Aviation High School in Queens, New York City from September 1961 and graduated in June of 1965. He learned to fly while in high school and earned his private pilot’s license in April of 1965. Sulmers applied to be a pilot with United Airlines in June 1965, shortly after graduation from high school. At that time they were hiring pilots with no licenses.
After not gaining employment with United Airlines, Sulmers enrolled at the City Community College in New York City to study mechanical engineering. One year later, he transferred to Miami Dade Junior College to complete his flight training and obtained his commercial pilot, instrument, multi-engine and certificated flight instructor pilot’s licenses.
Sulmers applied and was accepted as an airline pilot with Northeast Airlines, Inc. on September 3, 1968. He was the youngest of thirty-three pilots in that new-hire class at age twenty-two. He was furloughed at Northeast Airlines in January 1970. Later, in July 1970, Sulmers applied and was accepted as a pilot, second officer at Eastern Airlines, Inc. where he remained until March 3, 1989. He ended his tenure as a captain after nineteen and a half years during Eastern’s turbulent years. He did not return to Eastern Airlines during the recall. Instead, he applied and was accepted as a pilot, second officer with United Airlines, Inc. where he remained and retired as a captain in August 2006.
Sulmers feels that the aviation industry and the airlines he worked for were good to him and his family. It allowed him to educate his children in some of the top universities in the country. Some, he remembers when growing up he was told, he could not attend. As a family, the Sulmers’ have traveled to parts of the world where it would have been unimaginable to visit during his growing years. He was
able to do this while receiving good compensation for doing something he loved.
Organization of Black Aerospace Professionals
2017 Hall of Fame Honorees
The Leading Edge of Legacy: Being First to Accept the Challenge, our theme for the 2017 Pioneer Awards. Each of our recipients is being
celebrated for having the courage, the resilience and the tenacity to be first against all odds.
Among our group of honorees, we celebrate the first African-American civil servant female to receive a Ph.D. in Engineering at NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, America’s first African-American astronaut candidate, the first African-American air traffic specialist and the first African-American female pilot in the United States Air Force. These accomplishments merely skim the surface of their esteemed careers.
We are also honored to induct our 2011 Pioneer Award recipients who include one of the first African-American B52 pilots, one of the first
African-American UPS pilots, the Founder of the Airways Science Program at Delaware State University, a historically black college, the first African- American pilot hired by Altair Airlines and the B747-400 Captain who flew the first revenue flight for UPS.
Each of these history-making individuals have placed their indelible mark on the aviation industry and we are honored to celebrate each of them.
We salute them and we are proud to present the 2017 Hall of Fame honorees.
Dr. Aprille Joy Ericsson
Edward Joseph Dwight, Jr.
Captain Theresa M. Claiborne
Lieutenant Colonel Luke J. Weathers, Jr.
Captain Robert Brown
Captain Lawrence Anthony Parker, Jr.
Daniel E. Coons, Ph.D.
Lieutenant Colonel Edgar V. Lewis
Captain Aaron J. Gould
Organization of Black Aerospace Professionals
2017 Founders and Pioneers Hall of Fame
Edward Joseph Dwight, Jr.
OBAP Founders and Pioneers Hall of Fame 2017 Inductee
Ed Dwight is a man whose resume reads: Former Air Force test pilot, and America’s first Black Astronaut candidate, IBM Systems Engineer, Civil Aviation consultant, executive pilot, Real Estate and construction entrepreneur, and restauranteur can best be described as a true renaissance man. Ed Dwight has succeeded in all those areas. For the last 36 years, however, Ed has focused his direction singularly on art endeavors. Since his serious art career began in 1978, Dwight has become one of the most prolific and insightful sculptors in America.
Born in Kansas City, Ed left to join the U.S. Air Force in 1953. After pilot training, Ed obtained a degree in Aeronautical Engineering from Arizona State University and served as an officer and pilot. In 1961, Ed was chosen by President John Kennedy to enter the Air Force’s Experimental Test Pilot School, as a prerequisite to becoming America’s first Black Astronaut. Unfortunately, the assassination of President Kennedy terminated any chance for Dwight to go into space. In 1966, after fourteen years in the military, Ed left the Air Force.
Ed rekindled his initial love for art, and in 1977 earned a Masters Degree in Fine Arts (MFA) from the University of Denver. In 1974, the State of Colorado offered Ed a commission to create a series of bronzes entitled “Black Frontier Spirit in the American West” to honor the contributions of African Americans in settling the American frontier.
In 1980, Ed received his first large scale commission of Frederick Douglass from the National Park Service. Since then Ed has created over 128 Monuments, Memorials & Public Art installations around the U.S. depicting the contributions of African Americans to America’s landscape. Recent Memorials include an Underground Railroad Memorial in downtown Paterson, NJ; a memorial to Medgar Evers on the Alcorn University Campus in Mississippi, the Denmark Vesey Memorial for the City of Charleston, SC; a Memorial to
Thaddeus Tate, an early Black Pioneer, for the City of Charlotte, SC.
Ed’s largest Memorial to date is the Texas African American History Memorial recently installed on the State Capitol Grounds, in Austin, TX, and dedicated to the Emancipation of the Slaves on Juneteenth Day. Under development and construction include a Memorial to Harriett Tubman, for her service in the Battle of Combahee River in 1863, where she freed 750 Slaves. Also in planning is a 20 acre Monument to Cotton Picking, Sharecropping & Black Farming in Mound Bayou, MS, on the Mississippi Delta.
Ed has works in the permanent collection of the Smithsonian Institution, and other museums, and commands an extensive collector base all over the world. Ed’s company, Ed Dwight Studios, Inc. operates a 30,000 sq.ft, studio/gallery and foundry as is one of the largest single artist production and marketing facilities in the Western U.S. Ed Dwight is a true and dedicated Renaissance man.
Dr. Aprille Joy Ericsson
OBAP Founders and Pioneers Hall of Fame 2017 Inductee
During her 25+ year tenure with NASA, Dr. Aprille Joy Ericsson has held numerous positions. In 2017, Dr. Ericsson assumed the position of New Business Lead for the NASA GSFC Instrument Systems and Technology Division. Most recently, she served as the Capture Manager for a proposed Astrophysics mid-sized Class Explorer, called STAR-X. Prior to that proposal development, Dr. Ericsson served as the GSFC Program Manager for SBIR/STTR. Formerly, she served as the Deputy to the Chief Technologist for the Applied Engineering and Technology Directorate. As an Attitude Control Systems analyst, Dr. Ericsson developed practical control methods, and analyzed structural dynamics for several space science missions. She served as a NASA HQs Program Executive for Earth Science, and a Business Executive for Space Science. As an Instrument Project Manager she has led spaceflight instrument teams and proposal developments. Dr. Ericsson’s graduate school research at Howard University was developing control methods for orbiting large space platforms like ISS. She has served as an Adjunct Faculty member at several universities. Currently, she sits on Technical Academic boards at the National Academies, MIT and previously at Howard University as a Trustee.
Dr. Ericsson has won numerous awards. The most prestigious was “The 2016 Washington Award” from the Western Society of Engineers. Dr. Ericsson is the first female to receive a Ph.D. in Mechanical Engineering from Howard University, and the first African-American civil servant female to receive a Ph.D. in Engineering at NASA GSFC. She received her B.S. in Aeronautical/Astronautical Engineering from MIT.
Captain Theresa M. Claiborne
OBAP Founders and Pioneers Hall of Fame 2017 Inductee
Theresa was born on May 25, 1959 to Morris Claiborne Sr and Dorothy Claiborne in Emporia, Virginia. As a military dependent, she traveled the world. She graduated with honors from Elk Grove Sr. High School and attended California State University of Sacramento where she majored in Media Communications with a minor in Journalism. She also attended the University of California at Berkeley for Air Force Reserve Officer Training Corp (ROTC). On June 20, 1981, she was commissioned a second lieutenant in the United States Air Force.
She attended Undergraduate Pilot Training at Laughlin AFB, TX and graduated on September 16, 1982, Class 82-08 as the FIRST AFRICAN AMERICAN FEMALE PILOT in the USAF. Theresa served on active duty for seven years at Castle Air Force Base in California and Loring Air Force Base in Maine, flying the KC-135A aircraft. She left active duty in September 1988 and joined the USAF Reserve on the day after her active duty commitment ended. She reported to the 940th ARW at Mather Air Force Base in California, where she served as both an instructor pilot on the KC-135E and a flight commander. She was promoted to the rank of Lieutenant Colonel on November 1, 2001. Ms. Claiborne retired on January 6, 2003, as a Major, a command and instructor pilot with over 3000 military flight hours.
On January 15, 1990, Theresa took off on another mission in her life. She joined United Airlines as a pilot on a Boeing 727. She has since been qualified and flown a Boeing 737, 757, and 767. She is currently flying a Boeing 747-400 to Asia and Europe and has accumulated a total of over 15,000 civilian flying hours. She is one of 14 African American female pilots at United Airlines.
Theresa has received numerous awards, both civilian and military. Some of them include: Tuskegee Airmen Award of Merit – 1983, Western Region Tuskegee Airmen Award “Those Who Make It Possible” – 1984, “Wendell O Pruitt Award” – 1985. A few of her military awards include the Air Force Meritorious Service Medal, Air Force Commendation Medal, National Defense Service Medal, and the Southwest Asia Campaign Medal (Persian Gulf ).
Theresa has been featured in numerous national publications including Ebony, Jet, and Essence Magazines. She is an accomplished public/motivational speaker and has spoken across the nation. She has been featured on several documentaries about women in aviation and can be seen on the “Black Americans In Flight” mural at Lambert-St. Louis International Airport.
“My mother always told me, ‘You have to be twice as good.’ That’s why I was always so hard on myself,” Theresa says. You have to be twice as good. It’s a phrase that many African Americans heard as children, foreshadowing the inequality that they were likely to face at some point in their lives. Theresa used that as her motivation to not only flourish over her 26-plus year career at United, but also in becoming the first African American woman pilot in the United States Air Force.
Lieutenant Colonel Luke J. Weathers, Jr.
OBAP Founders and Pioneers Hall of Fame 2017 Inductee
Lieutenant Colonel Luke J. Weathers, Jr. the only child born to Jessie and Luke J. Weathers, Sr. in Grenada, MS, on December 16, 1920. In 1925, the Weathers family would reunite in Memphis, after the elder Weathers had previously moved to establish, own and operate the first African American grocery store with his uncle William “Bill” Weathers. Luke Jr., would later graduate from Booker T. Washington, Class of 1939, where he was an exceptional football player but nevertheless no sports opportunities were available beyond that Memphis football field. After high school he attended Xavier University in New Orleans, Lousiana to pursue an education for a career in the medicine field, but due to unforeseen circumstances he returned to Memphis were the dream in the medicine field would be short lived. However, he continued his education at Lane College in Jackson, TN.
Luke’s life would change forever when he discovered a newspaper from another city where he read an article about the Tuskegee Project. Luke researched and vigorously pursued the opportunity to be a part of a program that launched African American men in military aviation. Luke’s mother, Jessie Weathers, was “the help” for a prominent Memphis which ultimately lead him to a meeting in the Mayor’s office where the Mayor of Memphis, literally, called the White House in his presence and told them he was sending Luke to the project. He went to Tuskegee and against all odds, trained and succeeded, to become one of the famed members of the Tuskegee 302nd Fighter Squadron and the 332nd Fighter Group – also known as the “Red Tails” where he toured France, Germany, Italy and Africa. He earned The Distinguished Flying Cross, Seven Oak Leaf Clusters, American Theater Ribbon and WWII Victory Medal. In 2007, he would receive the Congressional Gold Medal with his other living counterparts. Upon returning to the United States Luke, Jr. became the first African American to receive the key to the City of Memphis and a parade on Beale Street which was held in his honor where 80,000 were in attendance. Luke would go on to become owner and operator of a flight school and he established a tailoring school under the Vocational Rehabilitation program in Jackson, TN. Luke Jr. also established the first ROTC program in the state of Tennessee at Manassas High School in Memphis. His professional career would land him in Alaska in 1960 to join the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), He later returned to the FAA Memphis Flight Service Station in 1945 to become the first African American air traffic specialist. His FAA career would span over a 25 year period from Memphis to Atlanta and ultimately to Washington, DC where he retired in 1985 after experiencing the air-traffic controllers (atc) strike under President Ronald Reagan which led to a record number of atc workers were terminated.
After retirement, Mr. Weathers remained active in aviation by promoting equality for women in the military and aviation. He was a member of the West Coast Tuskegee Airman Chapter and remained loyal until his death as a member of the Phoenix Arizona Chapter.
Lieutenant Colonel Luke J. Weathers Jr. earned his final wings October 15, 2011 and was finally laid to rest in Arlington National Cemetery on January 21, 2012, the release day of the movie “Red Tails” in which he was depicted. Lieutenant Colonel. Luke J. Weathers Jr. was a distinguished man and left a legacy in aviation built on his high school motto, “We Lead and Others Follow.”
Captain Lawrence Anthony Parker, Jr.
OBAP Founders and Pioneers Hall of Fame 2017 Inductee
“Larry” is a graduate of the Embry Riddle University with a B.S. in Professional Aeronautics. Because of Larry’s love of flying he started his aviation career as a TWA flight attendant in 1973 through 1978. During his time with TWA he obtained his flight certificates and ratings to become qualified as a pilot.
Larry was hired as a Line Pilot at Altair Airlines in 1978. He was selected for the Beech 99 and served as a Captain on the Beach 99 aircraft. Larry also flew the Nord262 and the Folker 28 aircraft.
In 1982, Larry was hired as a Line Pilot at People Express. While at People Express he served as a B727 Captain, simulator instructor, and company recruiter. In, 1986 Continental Airlines acquired People Express where he continued as a B727 Captain.
Larry was hired at UPS in 1988 as a flight qualified supervisor. He was selected for a technical interviewer for pilot hiring where he assisted in hiring the first 800 pilots at UPS. Later he served as a B727 fleet supervisor, a Captain Line Check-Airman and Instructor. In 1992, he transitioned to the B747 classic fleet where he served as a simulator instructor and as a Captain Line Check-Airman.
In 1994, Larry was promoted to manager and has held a variety of assignments including B747 classic Fleet Training Manager and Fleet Chief Pilot. After transitioning to the A300 Fleet in 2009. In Larry’s most recent position he served as the A300 Fleet Standards and Training Manager for UPS Airlines.
Larry has held the position of national vice president for the Organization of Black Airline Pilots (OBAP) for two terms and a dedicated member for over 39 years. He has helped mentor young prospective pilots to be successful in the airline industry. In 1994, Larry founded the Shawnee High School/OBAP Summer Aviation Camp, sometimes called ACE Camp Academy, in Louisville, KY. ACE Academy is a program designed to offer middle and high school students an introduction to the aviation industry and aviation careers.
Larry retired from UPS in 2017.
Captain Robert Brown
OBAP Founders and Pioneers Hall of Fame 2017 Inductee
Captain Robert “Bob” Brown retired from UPS Airlines after 21 years as an Assistant Chief Pilot/Check Airman having flown the B727, B757 and the B767 aircraft. Bob was a pioneer in starting the airline for UPS, joining the ranks when it was primarily a ground distribution company.
During his career from 1988–2009, Bob played a significant role in establishing training, policies and procedures that became the foundation for the success of the airline today. As a trusted colleague, he became well known for providing advice and counsel to his fellow employees that has led to many successful careers at UPS. Bob began his aviation career with the United States Air Force in 1969 after completing his undergraduate degree from Grambling State University. He flew the F-5, C-9 and the C-141 from 1969–1977. While in the Air Force, Bob continued his formal education and completed his Masters in Science degree with a concentration in Systems Management from University of Southern California in 1974. From 1977-1980 Bob was an Aviation Safety Inspector and Principal Operations Inspector, later flying for PSA Airlines from 1980–1982.
Bob seized an opportunity to use his expertise and served as a Health Physicist for the United States Nuclear Regulatory Commission from 1982–1987.
Bob’s desire to ensure the success of others in aviation became his passion and he joined the Organization of Black Airline Pilots (OBAP) in 1986. Having served for several years as a dedicated member, his belief in the mission of the organization led him to seek others to join him. His passion led him to continue mentoring many professionals in the organization.
His dedication is further highlighted by his role as a volunteer, serving the past twelve years in senior leadership roles as President, a member of the Board of Directors, Vice Chair and Chair of the Board of Directors. Through his engagement with OBAP and beyond, Bob will continue his commitment to community service and building a sustainable pipeline of young professional talent for the aerospace industry.
Daniel E. Coons, Ph.D.
OBAP Founders and Pioneers Hall of Fame 2017 Inductee
Dr. Daniel E. Coons was raised in Stamford, NY and graduated from Stamford Central School. He attended Champlain College before receiving his Bachelor’s degree from Harper College (SUNY Binghamton). He received his Master’s degree and Doctorate of Education from the State University of New York at Albany.
He served in the US Army overseas during the Korean War era. Upon returning to the states, he taught history and coached football from 1958 to 1968 at Cooperstown (NY) Central School where he was beloved by his students. It was as a teacher and mentor that Dan found his true calling. He went on to teach at the State University College at Oneonta before moving to Dover, Delaware to take a position as Director of Libraries and Learning Resources at Delaware State University. In 1987, Dan combined his love of teaching with his passion for flying and founded the Airway Science Department at Delaware State University. He continued to serve as the aviation program director until retiring for the first time in 1992.
Following this retirement, he moved to Cairo, Egypt for two years, where he worked through a USAID grant to oversee the construction of the Egyptian National Agricultural Library. Upon completion of the project, he returned to chair the aviation department at Del State from 1995–1997 and continued part time until 2006.
In 2003, he was honored by Kent County as an educator of distinction. He was a founding member of the Delaware Aviation Hall of Fame, who honored him with induction to the Hall in 2011. In 2011, he was recognized by the Organization of Black Aerospace Professionals (OBAP) for his contributions to the education of black pilots. He was honored by the Tuskegee Airmen with the first Lemuel E Curtis Award for his service to minority pilots. He served as president of the Kent County (DE) Chapter of the Korean War Vets for several years.
Daniel E. Coons, passed away at his home on May 3rd, 2017.
Lieutenant Colonel Edgar V. Lewis
OBAP Founders and Pioneers Hall of Fame 2017 Inductee
Edgar V. Lewis attended Hampton University in Hampton, Virginia for two years, but didn’t make enough money during his summer employment to return for his junior year. Money was tight so he joined the Air Force on July 13, 1949 to take advantage of the G.I. Bill.
He told them he wanted to train in electronics, but was told those career fields were not open to people like him. He insisted and became an Electronic Specialist, graduated as a fighter pilot flying the B47 and one of the first African American pilots to fly the B52, and was commissioned a Second Lieutenant. After 23 years of service, he retired from the Air Force as a Lieutenant Colonel.
Lewis went to work for the Federal Aviation Administration where he held several positions over the course of his 22-year tenure including, Aviation Operations Inspector, responsible for the certification of airline pilots, Regional Air Transportation Resource Specialist and Assistant Manager of Operations in the Flight Standards District Office. Lewis served as FAA liaison to Eastern Airlines during the modification of its operations.
At the time of his retirement from the FAA, Lewis was serving as Manager of Operations Branch, Southern Region, responsible for the review of all airline training programs and certification in the Southern Region. Lewis was the first African American Manager at the regional level for the FAA.
Captain Aaron J. Gould
OBAP Founders and Pioneers Hall of Fame 2017 Inductee
Captain Aaron J. Gould flew for UPS for more than 30 years and served as a Boeing 747-400 Captain. Prior to joining UPS. Captain
Gould flew for Evergreen International Airlines and was hired in 1986 by International Parcel Express (IPX). In 1987 UPS acquired full ownership of IPX from DHL to create its own cargo airline service. On February 1, 1988, Captain Bob Travelute, then First Officer Aaron Gould and Flight Engineer Dick Purcell flew the first revenue flight for UPS.
Gould joined the Organization of Black Airline Pilots in 1985 and served four years on the Board of Directors and nine years as Chairman of the Professional Pilot Development Program. As Chair of this program, he provided mentorship, scholarships and job placement for pilots pursuing an aviation career. Captain Gould is extremely proud of the numerous young men and women who have benefited from this program.
Organization of Black Aerospace Professionals
2018 Hall of Fame Honorees
A Star Among Us is our theme for the 2018 Pioneer Awards and what a stellar cast of recipients they are. Our honorees are trailblazers and history-makers whose knowledge, strength and determination have placed them among the best in class. These shining stars have truly changed the aerospace industry forever.
Among us—the first African American in space, the first African American Colonel in the Delaware National Guard in its 350 plus year history, the first African American woman in Texas to earn a pilot’s license and one of the first black employees at the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics, which was later incorporated into NASA. These are a few of the brilliant individuals who have earned their place in history. We are proud to celebrate their accomplishments and to present them as the 2018 Hall of Fame Honorees.
The Organization of Black Aerospace Professionals
Present the 2018 Hall of Fame Honorees:
Guion Stewart Bluford Jr., Ph.D.
Brigadier General Ernest G. Talbert (ret.)
Captain Albert T. Glenn
Azellia White
Dorothy Johnson Vaughan
Katherine Coleman Goble Johnson
Mary W. Jackson
Christine Mann Darden, Ph.D.
Organization of Black Aerospace Professionals
2018 Founders and Pioneers Hall of Fame
Guion Stewart Bluford Jr., Ph.D.
OBAP Founders and Pioneers Hall of Fame 2018 Inductee
Born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Bluford graduated from Overbrook High School in 1960. He received a Bachelor of Science degree in Aerospace Engineering from Pennsylvania State University in 1964, a Master of Science degree in Aerospace Engineering from the U.S. Air Force Institute of Technology (AFIT) in 1974, a Doctor of Philosophy degree in Aerospace Engineering with a minor in Laser Physics, again from AFIT, in 1978, and a Master of Business Administration degree from the University of Houston–Clear Lake in 1987. He has also attended the Wharton School of Business of the University of Pennsylvania.
Bluford attended pilot training at Williams Air Force Base, and received his pilot wings in January 1966. He was assigned to the 557th Tactical Fighter Squadron, Cam Ranh Bay, Vietnam. He flew 144 combat missions, 65 of which were over North Vietnam. In July 1967, Bluford was assigned to the 3630th Flying Training Wing, Sheppard Air Force Base, Texas, as a T-38 A instructor pilot. He served as a standardization/ evaluation officer and as an assistant flight commander. In early 1971, he attended Squadron Officer School and returned as an executive support officer to the Deputy Commander of Operations and as School Secretary for the Wing. In August 1972, Bluford entered the U.S. Air Force Institute of Technology residency school at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio. Upon graduating in 1974 with his master’s degree, he was assigned to the Air Force Flight Dynamics Laboratory at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base as a staff development engineer. He served as deputy for advanced concepts for the Aeromechanics Division and as branch chief of the Aerodynamics and Air frame Branch in the Laboratory. He has written and presented several scientific papers in the area of computational fluid dynamics.
Bluford was chosen to become a NASA astronaut in August 1979 out of thousands of possible candidates and became the first African American to experience space travel. His technical assignments have included working with Space Station operations, the Remote Manipulator System (RMS), Spacelab systems and experiments, Space Shuttle systems, payload safety issues and verifying flight software in the Shuttle Avionics Integration Laboratory (SAIL) and in the Flight Systems Laboratory (FSL). Bluford’s first mission was STS-8, which launched from Kennedy Space Center, Florida, on August 30, 1983. This was the third flight for the Orbiter Challenger and the first mission with a night launch and night landing. STS-8 completed 98 orbits of the Earth in 145 hours before landing at Edwards Air Force Base, California, on September 5, 1983. Bluford then served on the crew of STS-61-A, the German D-1 Spacelab mission, which launched from Kennedy Space Center on October 30, 1985. This mission was the first to carry eight crew members, the largest crew to fly in space and included three European payload specialists. This was the first dedicated Spacelab mission under the direction of the German Aerospace Research Establishment (DFVLR) and the first U.S. mission in which payload control was transferred to a foreign country (German Space Operations Center, Oberpfaffenhofen, Germany). After completing 111 orbits of the Earth in 169 hours, Challenger landed at Edwards Air Force Base on November 6, 1985.
Bluford also served on the crew of STS-39, which launched from Kennedy Space Center on April 28, 1991, aboard the Orbiter Discovery. The crew gathered aurora, Earth-limb, celestial, and Shuttle environment data with the AFP-675 payload. After completing 134 orbits of the Earth and 199 hours in space, Discovery landed at the Kennedy Space Center on May 6, 1991.Bluford’s last mission was STS-53, which launched from Kennedy Space Center on December 2, 1992. The crew of five deployed the classified Department of Defense payload DOD-1 and then performed several Military-Man-in-Space and NASA experiments. After completing 115 orbits of the Earth in 175 hours, Discovery landed at Edwards Air Force Base on December 9, 1992. With the completion of his fourth flight, Bluford has logged over 688 hours in space.
Bluford was inducted into the International Space Hall of Fame in 1997, and inducted into the United States Astronaut Hall of Fame in 2010. In 2002, scholar Molefi Kete Asante listed Bluford on his list of 100 Greatest African Americans. In 2006, Bluford was recognized as a distinguished alumnus of Penn State by being selected as the Grand Marshal for his alma mater’s Homecoming celebration.
Captain Albert T. Glenn
OBAP Founders and Pioneers Hall of Fame 2018 Inductee
Captain Albert T. Glenn, the son of a military officer lived all over the world until he and his family finally settled in Memphis, Tennessee in 1972 to embark on a life of service and commitment to youth within the community. Captain Glenn knew he wanted to fly from an early age, because that was all he could think about.
A 777 pilot, Captain Glenn began his illustrious career with FedEx in 1974. In this capacity, he has served as Data Control Clerk, Master Control Supervisor, Senior System Administrator, Flight Duty Officer, Chief Pilot of Flight Operation and Administration, and Managing Director of Global Flight Operations for FedEx Express Corporation. With more than 18,000 flight hours, Captain Glenn is qualified to pilot B777, MD11, DC10 and B727 aircrafts. Prior to his flying career with Memphis-based FedEx, Capt. Glenn cultivated his lifelong interest in aviation as an instrument and multi-engine flight instructor, 135-charter pilot, and in aircraft sales.
Captain Glenn first joined the Organization of Black Aerospace Professionals (then called Organization of Black Airline Pilots) in 1983. He served on the OBAP Board of Directors in 1985 and then as Chairman of the Board for the organization in 2004 and again in 2010 and Chair of the Board of Advisors in 2011. Captain Glenn is credited with leading the establishment of Project Aerospace and positioning Memphis as a Center of Excellence for OBAP, where aviation programming is accessible and affordable for youth at every age level through strengthened community and corporate partnerships.
Collectively, through the annual Memphis ACE Academy, sUAS Academy, Solo Flight Academy, Girls to Women and Boys to Men workshops, a partnership with the National Flight Academy, the establishment of Wooddale High School’s aviation program and East High School’s T-STEM Academy, OBAP has reached thousands of youth over the past 26 years in Memphis under Captain Glenn’s leadership.
Now, as an Advisor to OBAP, Captain Glenn led the establishment of the Lieutenant Colonel Luke Weathers Flight Academy (LWFA) in summer 2018 in Olive Branch, Miss., just minutes from Memphis. Through longstanding community relationships, the LWFA will train aspiring aviators of color and increase diversity in the industry by 50 pilots per year under his direction. His membership in Tuskegee Airmen Inc., and affiliation with nearly every community-based aviation organization also serve as valuable partners towards achieving this mission and Captain Glenn’s unwavering commitment to youth.
As an avid model plane aviator, Captain Glenn served as Associate Vice President for the Academy of Model Aeronautics (AMA), USA F3A Aerobatic Team Manager from 2007 - 2011 and Event Director for AMA Pattern Nationals from 2016 - 2018. He has also served as a Director on the Board of Professional Aviation Board of Certification (PABC) and as Chair of the Aviation Advisory Board at Western Michigan University.
Captain Glenn’s infectious passion for aviation has spread to nearly everyone he’s impacted throughout his admirable career. Captain Glenn’s wife is a manager at FedEx. He is also the father of three sons, an MD11 Captain and Instructor at FedEx, an Event Planner, and his youngest son is a Director of Flight Operations and the first African American to compete on USA’s F3A World Team flying UAVs (drones).
Brigadier General Ernest G. Talbert (ret.)
OBAP Founders and Pioneers Hall of Fame 2018 Inductee
Ernest G. Talbert, a combat veteran of Desert Storm, retired from the U.S. Air Force with the rank of Brigadier General after a career spanning 37 years. General Talbert was the first African-American to command the 142 Airlift Squadron, the first to attain the rank of colonel in the Delaware Air National Guard (ANG), the first African-American to become 166th Airlift Wing commander, and the first African-American general in the over 350-year history of the Delaware National Guard. In 2012, he was inducted into the Delaware Aviation Hall of Fame.
He received a B.A. in Economics from New York University and an M.B.A. from the University of Delaware. After graduating New York University’s Air Force ROTC program as a Distinguished Graduate, he entered Undergraduate Pilot Training at Williams AFB, Ariz., where he earned his USAF pilot wings in June 1973. His operational assignment was to Charleston AFB, S.C. where he flew the C-141 jet transport aircraft from June 1973 to December 1978.
In January 1979, he began his career with the Delaware Air National Guard (ANG). He became a C-130 aircraft instructor pilot and pilot flight examiner. As an air technician, he advanced in his career as the 166th Airlift Wing’s aircrew scheduler, then aircrew-training officer, chief of aircrew standardization and evaluation, and operations plans officer.
In February 1996, General Talbert became the Commander of the 142nd Airlift Squadron. During his tenure as commander the squadron received its best subjective evaluation to date on an Air Force Aircrew Standardization and Training Visit. He served admirably in a dual role, serving as the Air National Guard Detachment Commander, and the Operations Officer of a joint ANG-Active Duty provisional airlift squadron during the unit’s first ever Aerospace Expeditionary Force deployment in support of Operation Joint Forge in 2000.
In 2000 he also served as the commander of the 166th Operations Group. He was responsible for the worldwide operations of the 142nd Airlift Squadron, the 142nd Aeromedical Evacuation Squadron, the 166th Aerial Port Flight and the 166th Operations Support Flight. His leadership contribution was a key component of the wing’s selection to receive the National Guard Association Distinguished Flying Unit Award for 2000.
In November 2002, General Talbert became the Wing Commander of the 166th Airlift Wing. He oversaw the largest mobilization effort in the Wing’s history, directed the Wing’s recovery from the effects of a devastating tornado, and successfully led the wing and 34 other units in the largest to date Air Mobility Command Expeditionary Operational Readiness Inspection. In May 2005, General Talbert became Chief of Staff, Headquarters, Delaware Air National Guard.
While serving as president of the John Porter Chapter (Dover, DE) of the Tuskegee Airmen, he was instrumental in providing founding support to the Dover ACE Camp and the Dover ACE Solo Flight Academy. A volunteer spanning several years, General Talbert, actively supported both camps, engaging his Tuskegee Airmen Chapter, the Delaware National Guard and his numerous civilian and military contacts to support the OBAP mission of youth involvement.
General Talbert was promoted to Brigadier General in November of 2005, after receiving numerous awards and decorations, such as the Legion of Merit Meritorious Service Medal. His service to civic associations is extensive and includes: Serving on the Board of Trustees for Delaware Technical and Community College, and the executive board of the Delmarva Boy Scout Council. He is chairperson of Council’s urban Cub Scout outreach program, City of Wilmington HOPE Commission Human Resources Advisory Board, New
Castle County, Delaware and chairperson of a senatorial service academy nominating committee.
Azellia White
OBAP Founders and Pioneers Hall of Fame 2018 Inductee
“Mrs. White is a true trailblazer in the aviation industry and a role model for our students,” Sterling Aviation High School Principal Justin Fuentes said. “She is a powerful reminder to students that they can be anything they want to be and achieve anything they want to achieve. No one can stop them.”
White learned how to fly at Moton Field in Tuskegee, where her husband, Hulon “Pappy” White, was working as an airplane mechanic with the famed Tuskegee Airmen. The young African American pilots were eager to show her the ropes, she said. Azellia White earned a private pilot’s license on March 26, 1946. Once licensed, she flew often.
At the time, it was often dangerous for African Americans to travel from town to town, particularly in Southern states. Sometimes, she said, she and her niece would load into her small T-Craft and fly north from Tuskegee to Birmingham just to go shopping. She still recalls the day in 1941 when the then-First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt came to visit the airfield and asked, despite Secret Service objections, if she could fly with one of the African American pilots. Chief Civilian Flight Instructor Charles Anderson— known today as the Father of Black Aviation— flew Roosevelt in the skies over Alabama for an hour before returning her to the airfield. Though it’s been 76 years since the visit, Azellia White still remembers the first lady adamantly proclaiming: “Let those black boys fly.”
After World War II, Azellia and Pappy White returned to Houston to open Sky Ranch with fellow Tuskegee Airmen Ben Stevenson and Elton “Ray” Thomas. Located on the historic Taylor-Stevenson Ranch, the airfield offered a flight training program, as well as charter flying and cargo services. The three ranch owners would later go on to found the Bronze Eagles Flying Club.
Though Azellia White wasn’t considered a formal owner of Sky Ranch, she was a popular fixture at the airfield. Young pilots in training often asked her to take them up. Sometimes the mischievous daredevil would have a little fun, startling them with stunts.
“I’d pull my control up … and then let it down,” she said during an interview tape recorded several years ago, recalling how her passengers would start to holler. “I told them, “We just done a little stunt.” Now, she said, young pilots are more likely to be flying jets than the little T-Craft on which she trained.
Azellia white’s family understands why their matriarch doesn’t see herself as special— even if they do. “It was just everyday life for them,” great niece Emeldia Bailey said, referring to Azellia and Pappy, who is now deceased. “They don’t really think of themselves as pioneers. It was just the life they were living.”
Dorothy Johnson Vaughan
OBAP Founders and Pioneers Hall of Fame 2018 Inductee
Dorothy Vaughan, featured in the book Hidden Figures by Margot Lee Shetterly and portrayed in the movie of the same name by Octavia Spencer, was the first Black female Supervisor at the National Advisory Committee on Aeronautics (NACA) later known as The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA).
Vaughan was born Dorothy Johnson on September 20, 1910, in Kansas City, Missouri, the daughter of Mr. Leonard H. Johnson and Mrs. Annie A. Johnson. She attended Beechurst High School, graduating as class valedictorian in 1925. The West Virginia Conference of the A. M. E. Sunday School Convention awarded her their first full scholarship to Wilberforce University where she graduated cum laude with a degree in Mathematics.
Following her graduation in 1929, she taught at the Robert R. Moton High School in Farmville, Va., for 12 years. In 1943 when she accepted employment with NACA at Langley Field, Virginia, Vaughan joined the first group of Blacks to be hired as mathematicians. They were placed in a segregated section and were responsible for doing the mathematical computations for the engineers conducting aeronautical experiments. Using slide rules, calculators, and film reading, they provided the engineers with the data needed to perform various performance tests, such as the variables affecting the drag and lift of aircraft.
In 1949, she was named supervisor of the segregated West Area Computing section, making her NACA’s first Black supervisor, as well as one of the few female supervisors. As mathematicians, the ladies of the West Area Computing section were the computers of that day. Vaughan was a steadfast advocate for the women of West Computing and even intervened on behalf of white computers in other groups who deserved promotions or pay raises. Engineers valued her recommendations as to the best “girls” for a particular project, and for challenging assignments they often requested that she personally handle the work.
In anticipation of the West Area Section being dissolved and the human computers being replaced by electronic computers, Vaughan encouraged and motivated her co-workers to further their education by taking classes on weekends and evenings at Hampton Institute. She taught her colleagues FORTRAN, after first becoming an expert in the computer language herself. Always trying to improve herself and lead by example, Vaughan also took classes to further her education at Hampton Institute and Virginia State College throughout her career. Among her many accomplishments at NASA, she contributed to the Scout Vehicle Launch Program and collaborated in compiling a handbook for algebraic methods for calculating machines.
Upon her retirement in 1971, she was regarded as one of NASA’s greatest minds. Her legacy lives on in the successful careers of notable West Computing alumni, including Mary Jackson, Katherine Johnson, Eunice Smith, and Kathryn Peddrew, and the achievements of second-generation mathematicians and engineers such as Dr. Christine Mann Darden. The wife of Mr. Howard S. Vaughan, Jr. (deceased in 1955), Vaughan was a proud mother of six children (Ann being the eldest child), grandmother of ten children, and great-grandmother of fourteen children. Dorothy Vaughan died in Hampton, Virginia on November 10, 2008, at the age of ninety-eight.
On May 6, 2017, at Wilberforce University, Dorothy Vaughan was posthumously awarded an Honorary Doctoral Degree in Science. On June 1, 2017, she was inducted into the NACA/NASA Langley Hall of Honor. In the fall of 2017, she was honored by the Charlotte Mecklenburg School District in North Carolina through the dedication of the Dorothy J. Vaughan Academy of Technology. She also received posthumously the University of North Carolina Morehead Planetarium Medal of Science, along with many other awards.
Regarding her time working at NACA/NASA, Dorothy Vaughan is credited to have said, “I changed what I could change, and what I couldn’t, I endured.”
Mary W. Jackson
OBAP Founders and Pioneers Hall of Fame 2018 Inductee
Mary Jackson, featured in the book Hidden Figures by Margot Lee Shetterly and portrayed in the movie of the same name by Janelle Monáe, was the first Black woman Engineer at NASA.
Jackson was born Mary Winston on April 9, 1921, to Ella (née Scott) and Frank Winston. She grew up in Hampton, Virginia, where she graduated with honors from George P. Phenix Training School. Jackson graduated from Hampton Institute in 1942 with degrees in both mathematics and physical sciences. After graduation, Jackson accepted a teaching position and held several more positions before she accepted a job with the NACA Langley Aeronautical Laboratory’s West Area Computers in 1951, where her supervisor was Dorothy Vaughan.
After two years in West Computing, Jackson was offered a computing position to work with engineer Kazimierz Czarnecki. In addition to her computing tasks, Czarnecki offered her hands-on experience conducting experiments in the facility and encouraged her to enter a training program that would allow her to earn a promotion from mathematician to engineer. Trainees had to take graduate-level math and physics in after-work courses. Because the classes were held at then-segregated Hampton High School, she petitioned and received special permission from the City of Hampton to join her white peers in the classroom. Jackson completed the courses, earned the promotion, and in 1958 became NASA’s first African American female engineer. She specialized in the incredibly complex field of boundary layer effects on aerospace vehicle configurations at supersonic speeds. That same year, she co-authored her first report, “Effects of Nose Angle and Mach Number on Transition on Cones at Supersonic Speeds.” By 1975, she had authored or co-authored a total of 12 NACA and NASA technical publications.
In 1979, realizing that the glass ceiling was the rule, rather than the exception for Langley’s female professionals, she made a final, dramatic career change, leaving engineering and voluntarily accepting a reduction-in-grade to serve as an administrator in the Equal Opportunity Specialist field. Jackson filled the open position of Langley’s Federal Women’s Program Manager. There, she worked hard to impact the hiring and promotion of the next generation of NASA’s female mathematicians, engineers, and scientists. Jackson retired from Langley in 1985. Among her many honors were an Apollo Group Achievement Award, and being named Langley’s Volunteer of the Year in 1976. She served as the Chairperson for one of the Center’s annual United Way campaigns, was a Girl Scout troop leader for more than three decades, and was a member of the National Technical Association (the oldest African American technical organization in the United States).
She and her husband Levi had an open-door policy for young Langley recruits trying to gain their footing in a new town and a new career. A 1976 Langley Researcher profile might have done the best job of capturing Mary Jackson’s spirit and character, calling her a “gentle lady, wife and mother, humanitarian and scientist.” For Mary Jackson, science and service went hand in hand.
Mary Jackson passed away in Hampton on February 11, 2005, at the age of 83. She was preceded in death by her husband, Levi Jackson Sr., and was survived by her son, Levi Jackson Jr., her daughter, Carolyn Marie Lewis and her granddaughter, Wanda D.Jackson. In 2018 the Salt Lake City School Board declared that Jackson Elementary School in Salt Lake City would from then on be officially named Mary W. Jackson Elementary School rather than (as it used to be) after President Andrew Jackson.
NASA CITATION: “In honor and recognition of the ambition and motivation that enabled her career progression from “human computer” to NASA’s first African-American female engineer, and subsequent career supporting the hiring and promotion of other deserving female and minority employees.”
Katherine Coleman Goble Johnson
OBAP Founders and Pioneers Hall of Fame 2018 Inductee
Katherine Johnson, featured in the book Hidden Figures by Margot Lee Shetterly and portrayed in the movie of the same name by Taraji P. Henson, was known for her precise calculations of trajectories, launch windows, and emergency back-up return paths for many of the early NASA missions.
Johnson was born Katherine Coleman on August 26, 1918, in White Sulphur Springs, Greenbrier County, West Virginia, the daughter of Joshua and Joylette Coleman. She was the youngest of four children. Johnson showed a talent for math from an early age. Johnson graduated high school at 14 and entered West Virginia State. As a student, she took every math course offered by the college. She graduated summa cum laude in 1937, with degrees in Mathematics and French, at age 18.
After starting a family, Johnson took on a teaching job at a Black public school in Marion, Virginia. After teaching for seven years, Johnson went to work as a pool mathematician or “computer” for the Langley Research Center, in 1953. Johnson worked on the early space program, including computing the launch window for astronaut Alan Shepard’s and John Glenn’s orbits around the earth. Johnson recalled that era: “We needed to be assertive as women in those days—assertive and aggressive—and the degree to which we had to be that way depending on where you were. I had to be. In the early days of NASA, women were not allowed to put their names on the reports—no woman in my division had had her name on a report.”
Author Margot Lee Shetterly stated, “So the astronaut who became a hero, looked to this Black woman in the still-segregated South at the time as one of the key parts of making sure his mission would be a success.” She added that, in a time where computing was “women’s work” and engineering was left to men, “It really does have to do with us over the course of time sort of not valuing that work that was done by women, however necessary, as much as we might. And it has taken history to get a perspective on that.”
Johnson calculated the trajectory for the 1969 Apollo flight to the moon. In 1970, she worked on the Apollo 13 moon mission. When the mission was aborted, her work on backup procedures and charts helped set a safe path for the crew’s return to Earth, creating a one-star observation system that would allow astronauts to determine their location with accuracy. In a 2010 interview, Johnson recalled, “Everybody was concerned about them getting there. We were concerned about them getting back.”
While working in NASA’s Flight Dynamics Branch at LRC, Johnson helped author the first textbook on space. Later in her career, she worked on the Space Shuttle program, the Earth Resources Satellite, and on plans for a mission to Mars. In total, Katherine Johnson authored or co-authored 26 scientific papers.
She married James F. Goble in 1939. To this union, three daughters were born: Joylette, Constance, and Katherine. Mr. Goble died in 1956 and Constance in 2010. In 1959, Katherine married Lieutenant Colonel James A. Johnson. Johnson retired in 1986, after thirty-three years at Langley. “I loved going to work every single day,” she says. She and her husband have enjoyed over 59 years of work and travel, and in retirement, they are residing in Newport News, VA., and enjoying their six grandchildren and eight great-grandchildren.
In 2015, at age 97, Katherine Johnson added another extraordinary achievement to her long list of awards: President Obama awarded her the Presidential Medal of Freedom, America’s highest civilian honor. Also, in September of 2017, NASA held a ribbon cutting ceremony of the Katherine G. Johnson Computational Research Facility, with the Governor of Virginia, Terry McAuliffe in attendance. Katherine Johnson is noted for her humility, determination, vision, and commitment to excellence. She tutored students both young and adults, and never charged a fee.
Christine Mann Darden, Ph.D.
OBAP Founders and Pioneers Hall of Fame 2018 Inductee
In the Hidden Figures book, Shetterly cast Darden as standing on the shoulders of Vaughan, Jackson, and Johnson who arrived at Langley 24, 16 and 14 years perspectively ahead of Darden. It was the excellence of the work of these three ladies that precipitated the hiring of Darden in 1967, two years prior to the moon landing.
Darden was born Christine Mann on September 10, 1942, to Noah Horace and Desma Mann. She was the youngest of five children, a native of Monroe, NC and a graduate of Allen High School. She earned a BS Degree in Mathematics Education from Hampton Institute, a MS Degree in Applied Mathematics from Virginia State College, and a Ph.D. in Mechanical Engineering from George Washington University. Darden also holds a Certificate of Advanced Study in Management from Simmons College Graduate School of Management in Boston, MA.
Like Dorothy, Katherine, and Mary, Christine had been encouraged by her father to become a high school mathematics teacher while at Hampton Institute. However, upon graduation, she was hired as a Data Analyst at Langley and assigned to the Computer Office in Re-Entry Physics Branch, in 1967.
After five years, Christine realized that the engineers were sending her equation very much like those she studied while working on her Master’s Degree. She asked for a transfer to Engineering but was refused. Two months later she approached a high-level Director and asked, “Why are men and women with similar background assigned to such different positions when they get to Langley? The ladies support the men, they don’t give talks, they don’t write papers, and they don’t get promoted. The men, on the other hand, are given research problems to work. They give talks on their work. They write papers. And they get promoted.”
This courageous conversation not only kept Darden from being laid off from NASA, but also contributed to her promotion and transfer to the Engineering section working on “Minimizing the Sonic Boom” of a supersonic aircraft. Like Jackson, Darden decided to pursue an engineering degree. She enrolled in a NASA funded program sponsored by George Washington University for a Doctor of Science in Mechanical Engineering with an emphasis in Fluid Dynamics. She graduated in February 1983. Earning that degree led to a 27-year career during which Darden became NASA’s leading expert on Supersonic boom analysis and authored over 57 technical articles published as NASA Reports or as Journal Articles. She gave conference papers in Germany, France, England, Greece, and Japan. Darden completed her final eight years at NASA as a member of the Senior Executive Service, the first African-American appointed to the highest rank level at the NASA Langley Research Center.
At Darden’s retirement in April 2007, two African-American Female Engineers spoke of how they were inspired from Darden’s story of switching from mathematics to engineering and were given the inspiration and courage to do the same. One of those ladies continues to this day to work as a very productive Systems Engineer at Langley. Johnson, Jackson, and Darden volunteered in the Hampton Roads Chapter of the National Technical Association to help middle school students in mathematics. They also tutor high school students for their SAT Tests and sponsored college students in giving technical talks that related to work done during summer intern jobs.
Darden and her husband of 53 years, Walter, are the proud parents of three adult daughters, five grandchildren, and three great-grandchildren. Although retired and still living in Hampton, she frequently travels throughout the country as a motivational and inspirational speaker for the next generation of minorities and women. She also travels to speaking engagements in conjunction with her good friend and author of “Hidden Figures” Margot Lee Shetterly.
In 1985 Darden received the Dr. A. T. Weathers Technical Achievement Award from the National Technical Association. She received a Candace Award from the National Coalition of 100 Black Women in 1987. She won three Certificates of Outstanding Performance from Langley Research Center: in 1989, 1991, and 1992. On January 28, 2018, Darden received the Presidential Citizenship Award at Hampton University in recognition for her contribution and service.
Organization of Black Aerospace Professionals
2019 Hall of Fame Honorees
Pillars of Empowerment is our theme for the 2019 Pioneer Awards, a testament to this year’s honorees. Each of the honorees stand boldly as pillars who have demonstrated strength and dedication to the paths they’ve chosen and the countless lives they continue to impact. With courage and determination, our honorees have gone where none have before them, breaking barriers and raising the bar. They are the wayshowers, change makers, rewriting the script and changing the narrative.
We are proud to celebrate their accomplishments,
and to present to you our 2019 Hall of Fame recipients:
Major General John H. Bailey (ret.)
Icema Gibbs
John and Martha King
Colonel Charles Edward McGee (ret.)
Lieutenant Colonel Marcella Ng (ret.)
Lieutenant Commander Brenda E. Robinson (ret.)
Organization of Black Aerospace Professionals
2019 Founders and Pioneers Hall of Fame
Major General John H. Bailey (ret.)
OBAP Founders and Pioneers Hall of Fame 2019 Inductee
General Bailey was commissioned a Second Lieutenant in the US Army on 10 May 1967, upon completion of Officer Candidate School at Aberdeen Proving Ground Maryland. Upon receiving his commission he was reassigned to his old unit, the 101st Airborne Division at Fort Campbell KY.
General Bailey’s overseas assignments include one tour of duty in Germany 1962–1965 and two tours of duty in Vietnam, 1967–68 and 1971–72. His first tour was as platoon leader and company commander with the 101st Airborne Division, his second tour was as an Army Fixed Wing Aviator with the First Aviation Brigade where he flew Reconnaissance, Surveillance, and Search and Destroy Missions over South Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia.
General Bailey spent the last twelve years of his military career in the Military Forces of the State of Texas where he served as the S-3 of the Second Battalion 8th Brigade, Commander 8th Brigade, Deputy commanding General for Operations and Training for the State Guard, and Commanding General of the State Guard.
General Bailey earned a Bachelors Degree in Aeronautics from Embry Riddle Aeronautical University, a Masters Degree in Education Administration and Supervision from Alcorn State University, and is a graduate of the Army’s Basic and Advanced Airborne Schools, Fixed Wing Aviators Course, Ordnance Officers Advance course and Command and Generals Staff College.
General Bailey is a “Significant Sig” of the Sigma Chi Fraternity. He is a member of the Board of Retired Executives and a member of the Officer Candidate School Hall of Fame at Fort Benning Georgia.
Among his awards and decorations are the Soldiers Medal for heroism, the Bronze Star Medal with Oak Leaf Cluster, the Meritorious Service Medal, the Air Medal with the numeral 9, the Army Commendation Medal with two “V” Devices and two Oak Leaf Clusters and the Lone Star Distinguished Service Medal. His Badges include the Army Aviators Badge, the Senior Parachutist Badge, and the Generals Staff Identification Badge.
Icema Gibbs
OBAP Founders and Pioneers Hall of Fame 2019 Inductee
Icema D. Gibbs is the Director of Corporate Social Responsibility for JetBlue Airways. Ms. Gibbs is responsible for JetBlue’s corporate citizenship, working to enhance the company’s brand platform through global cause marketing and philanthropic initiatives. Through her leadership, JetBlue’s award winning Corporate Social Responsibility efforts have been recognized and applauded in the United States and abroad. Ms. Gibbs has been honored for her leadership and dedication to creating social change including in 2009 when Queens Borough President Helen Marshal issued a proclamation declaring April 23 as Icema Danielle Gibbs day in the New York City borough that’s home to JetBlue headquarters.
Ms. Gibbs is one of JetBlue’s founders, having been with the airline long before it took to the skies. She joined the company in August 1999 as Director of JFK Operations. She was part of the small team that worked to get JetBlue certified as a commercial airline by the Federal Aviation Administration. During her tenure at JFK, Ms. Gibbs was responsible for all aspects of operations and customer experience. She started her aviation career at Newark International Airport with People Express after graduating from Syracuse University with a degree in broadcast journalism. Ms. Gibbs joined Continental Airlines after People Express merged with Continental in 1987, taking on roles of increasing responsibility, ultimately serving as Director of Customer Service, managing the airport staff responsible for more than 800 daily departures and arrivals. Ms. Gibbs was instrumental in establishing and managing Continental’s award winning Concierge program.
Ms. Gibbs’ leadership qualities have afforded her the opportunity to participate with thought-leaders to help the Bloomberg administration launch NYCServe—New York City’s volunteer initiative. She is a founding board member of the City University of New York’s Aviation Institute at York College and serves on the boards of Greater Jamaica Development Corporation and the New York Council of Airport Opportunity. Additionally, she serves on the board of Do Something.org—a national not-for-profit web-based company that inspires and supports young people changing the world. She is also a member of the Greater New York Chapter of The Links, Inc. Ms. Gibbs is a native of Queens, New York, where she lives today with her daughter, also named Icema.
John and Martha King
OBAP Founders and Pioneers Hall of Fame 2019 Inductee
John and Martha King´s use of technology and clear, simple, and fun teaching have made aviation knowledge more accessible to pilots
throughout the world.
After a dismal failure in a business for which they did not have a passion, John and Martha King decided to relax and indulge their love of flying for a while. In the early 1970s, they began teaching flying to mark time while looking for a “serious business.” After teaching live seminars for over a decade they put their courses on video and began to revolutionize the flight training industry.
Today their company, King Schools, Inc.—which started in a spare bedroom in the Kings´ house—operates out of a dedicated complex in San Diego, California that includes a video and software production facility. Over more than 40 years, King Schools has delivered many millions of courses to pilots in training.
Through intimate video instruction John and Martha King have taught more pilots than anyone in the history of aviation—for many years teaching more than half the pilots in the United States learning to fly. It’s no surprise that pilots throughout the world know John and Martha and regard them as their personal aviation mentors.
King Schools continues to transform pilot training by pioneering the development of multimedia training programs on many aviation subjects including ground-breaking programs on aviation risk management.
Through the years, the Kings have retained their enthusiasm for flying. They fly their own Dassault Falcon 10 jet wherever they go, swapping captain and copilot duties on each leg. They have flown as pilots in every continent of the world except Antarctica, including a trip completely around the world via the length of Russia.
Lieutenant Colonel Marcella Ng (ret.)
OBAP Founders and Pioneers Hall of Fame 2019 Inductee
Marcella Ann Ng was the first African American woman pilot in the United States Armed Forces. Marcella was born in 1956 as Marcella Ann Hayes in Mexico, Missouri. She was raised by her grandparents in Centralia, Missouri. She graduated from David Hickman High School in Columbia, Missouri in 1974.
Marcella received her Bachelor’s degree in English from the University of Wisconsin–Madison in 1978. She initially wanted to become a doctor. Marcella joined the ROTC in her second semester of college, and joined the army in 1978 after graduating from college.
On November 27, 1979 at the U.S. Army Aviation Center at Fort Rucker, Alabama, she became the first black woman—and the 55th woman— to become a pilot in the United States Armed Forces. She went on to serve 22 years in the army, and retired in 2000 as a lieutenant colonel. Marcella is married to Dennis Ng and the couple has three children.
Colonel Charles Edward McGee (ret.)
OBAP Founders and Pioneers Hall of Fame 2019 Inductee
Charles E. McGee was born in Cleveland, Ohio, in 1919. He spent his childhood in Ohio, Illinois and Iowa. His college study at the University of Illinois was cut short when he was sworn in the enlisted reserve on October 26, 1942 and received orders to enter Army Air Corps flight training. He received his silver wings as a single engine pilot and was commissioned second lieutenant on June 30, 1943, graduating at Tuskegee Army Air Field, Alabama, in Class 43-F.
Colonel McGee remained on active duty for 30 years. He became a command pilot and accumulated over 6,300 total hours. He flew fighter aircraft combat tours in three major military conflicts: 136 missions with the 302nd Fighter Squadron in Italy during WWII, 100 missions with the 67th Fighter Bomber Squadron in Korea, and 173 missions while commanding the 16th Tactical Reconnaissance Squadron in Viet Nam. He also commanded the 44th Fighter Bomber Squadron 1951–1953 in the Philippine Islands, the 7230th Support Squadron 1961–63 in Italy in support of the Cold War Jupiter Missile program, and the 1840th Air Base Wing and Richards-Gebaur Air Force Base, Missouri in 1972. Decorations awarded include: the Legion of Merit with Oak Leaf Cluster, Distinguished Flying Cross with two Oak Leaf Clusters, Bronze Star; Air Medal with 25 Oak Leaf Clusters, Army and Air Force Commendation Medals, Presidential Unit Citation, Korean Presidential Unit Citation, several campaign and service ribbons, and the Hellenic Republic WWII Commemorative Medal.
Colonel McGee earned a bachelor’s degree in Business Administration and worked in real estate and management activities before retiring as manager of Kansas City, MO Downtown Airport. He now shares his life experiences by speaking in support of Black Heritage and Youth Career motivation programs. He has received the Boy Scouts Silver Beaver award, and is honored as a Distinguished Eagle Scout. He also was honored to receive the first General Noel F. Parrish award for service to Tuskegee Airmen, Inc. Other recognitions include: Elder Statesman in Aviation by the National Aeronautics Association, Chevalier of the French Legion of Honor, recipient of the U.S. Congressional Gold Medal, Honorary Doctorate of Public Service by Tuskegee University and of Humane Letters by Columbia College (Missouri), and the Air Force Association’s Lifetime Achievement Award. He was enshrined in the mNational Aviation Hall of Fame on July 16, 2011.
Lieutenant Commander Brenda E. Robinson (ret.)
OBAP Founders and Pioneers Hall of Fame 2019 Inductee
Brenda E. Robinson is the first black woman to earn her Wings of Gold as a naval aviator. Robinson was the 59th female to enter naval flight training program in September of 1979 and became the 42nd to earn her wings on June 6, 1980. The first female to do so was LTJG Barbara Allen, like Robinson, earned her wings at Corpus Christi, TX. Brenda was among one of the first women to make aircraft carrier landings, C-1A on USS America in January 1981.
Brenda Robinson was born 1956 and grew up in North Wales, Pennsylvania, the only daughter of Susan and Edward Robinson. At the age of 9 years old Brenda was interested in all things aircraft travel related, a Flight Attendant to start. When she was 11 years old her father promised to send her to Illinois (by plane) to visit her cousin if she got good grades. She did! So Brenda took her first airplane ride from Philadelphia to Chicago on United Airlines. This is where her story begins.
In high school Brenda attended a career study program at North Penn High School, which offered numerous career selections, and where she spent half days as an onsite monitor for an entire year. She chose aviation and visited an airport, Wings Field, Bluebell, Philadelphia everyday. Piloting an airplane as a career did not seem feasible at the time. Realizing women had a small role in aviation she almost lost interest. However, Air Traffic Control became her new dream.
At the suggestion and recommendation of the head Air Traffic Controller at the North Philadelphia Airport, she was encouraged to apply to the only two colleges on the east coast accredited by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). Dowling College, New York, one of the best aviation schools on the East Coast, and more widely known Emery Riddle in Florida. Brenda chose Dowling College in Oakdale, N.Y., a great college with a top notch Aeronautics program. She applied to only Dowling College and was accepted.
After the first semester began she learned that MacArthur Airport, Islip, NY, offered flying lessons, in addition to her course curriculum, at a 10% discount to Dowling students. It didn’t come easy. Flying was very expensive and when she ran out of money she had to stop flying, raise money from her strapped parents, and start again. With a heavy academic load, Brenda still held down a job just to meet personal financial expenses. While at Dowling, Brenda met her first-ever female pilot, a wonderful French woman who was one of her flight instructors from whom she learned much, and that was when she decided flying could and would become her life. She then achieved her Privates Pilots License.
Brenda’s list of accomplishments include being one of five women studying Aeronautics of the 2000 students in attendance while she was at Dowling. She is the first black woman in Dowling’s history to graduate with a degree in Aeronautics. In 1977 she was selected by the United States Navy as one of 10 women in the nation to start boot camp, followed by flight training.
She is the first black woman in the history of the US Navy to graduate Aviation Officers Candidate School (AOCS) and was commissioned Ensign (equivalent to the Army’s second lieutenant). Upon completion of flight school in June of 1980 she earned her wings and was the focus of this historic Navy event.
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