The Albatrosses Aerospace History Seminar will meet again at 4:00 p.m. EST on April 29, 2021, when Alan Meyer of Auburn University will welcome comments and feedback on his paper, “‘Last Hired and First Fired’: The First Generation of Black Airline Pilots, 1963-1978.” 

This paper, from Alan's current book project Flying While Black, focuses on the first generation of African Americans airline pilots after a groundbreaking 1963 Supreme Court decision forced the airline industry to end de jure racially discriminatory hiring practices. By 1978, fifteen years after the first was hired, there were still only 113 Black pilots working for major U.S. passenger airlines, a statical drop in the bucket (just 0.25 percent) in the overall workforce. Analyzing the backgrounds and experiences of these pioneering individuals reveals how supposedly race-neutral job qualifications remained a barrier for many other prospective Black pilots and helps explain the continued lack of diversity in the cockpit.

For security reasons, please email seanseyer@ku.edu to preregister. The pre-circulated paper and conference Zoom link will be provided a week prior to the scheduled date.