Today on #WorldPilotsDay, i’ll highlight black pilots who broke barriers 👨🏿✈️👩🏿✈️
—A THREAD—
In 1921, Bessie Coleman became the first black licensed pilot.
When she developed an interest in flying, women and people of color had no flight training opportunities in the… twitter.com/i/web/status/1…
Willa Brown was the first black woman to earn both a pilot's license and a commercial license. (Bessie got hers in France)
Marlon D. Green, was an Air Force Pilot who fought to desegregate the Airline Industry. He became the 1st black pilot hired by a major airline.
Jill E. Brown became the first female African-American pilot for a major US airline in 1978 when she joined Texas International Airlines as a pilot.
Ahmet Ali Celikten was the world's first black fighter pilot.
He served in the air forces of the Ottoman Empire and the Republic of Turkey. He was a veteran of World War 1 and the Turkish War of Independence.
Jesse L. Brown was the first black US Navy pilot. He flew 20 combat missions before being shot down in 1950 during the Korean War.
Eugene Jacques Bullard was the first African American military combat pilot. Often referred to as the “Black Swallow of Death” for his courage during missions, he faced incredible obstacles to become the only African-American pilot in World War 1.
He grew up in Georgia, flew for France in BOTH world wars, ran a Paris nightclub, spoke 3 languages and unironically owned a pet monkey.
Special mention to the Tuskegee Airmen became the first African American flying unit in the U.S. military and fought in World War II.
The Tuskegee Airmen epitomized courage and heroism.
Lt. Col. Harry Stewart Jr. is one of the last surviving Tuskegee Airmen of World War II.
He survived 43 combat missions during World War II and is one of only a dozen remaining Tuskegee Airmen from the famed “Red Tails” fighter group still alive.
In 2001, Shawna Rochelle Kimbrell became the first Black woman to serve as a fighter pilot in the U.S. Air Force.
If you love my content, You can support my history page/project here through donations/tips to keep up on: ko-fi.com/africanarchives
• • •
Missing some Tweet in this thread? You can try to
force a refresh
Gert Schramm, aged 15, was arrested and imprisoned in Nazi Germany for the 'crime' of being Mixed Race. He was the only Black prisoner at Buchenwald.
A THREAD
In May 1944, the Gestapo( official secret police of Nazi Germany) arrested Schramm in Erfurt under Rassenschande (racial defilement) laws, which criminalized relationships between “Aryans” and “non-Aryans” to enforce Nazi racial purity.
Schramm’s heritage—Black American father, Jack Brankson, an engineer, and German mother, Marianne Schramm—made him a target. His existence defied the Nazis’ hateful ideology of purity.
Cathay had to pose as a MALE to be enlisted as a union soldier during her time. She was part of the 38 Regiment Infantry Division and was called a Buffalo Soldier!
A THREAD
Cathay was born and enslaved in 1850 in Jackson County, Missouri. In September 1861 Union troops impressed Cathay and she joined the Army to work as a cook and washerwoman for Union Army officers.
On November 15th, 1866 Williams disguised herself as a man and enlisted as William Cathey, serving in Company A of the 38th Infantry, a newly-formed all-black U.S. Army Regiment, one of its earliest recruits.
In 1847, Missouri banned education for black people.
John Berry Meachum went ahead and equipped a steamboat with a library, desks, chairs and opened a 'Floating Freedom School'.
A THREAD!
John Berry Meachum was born into slavery in Virginia in 1789 but by the age of 21 he had earned enough money doing carpentry work to purchase his own freedom and then his father’s.
Meachum was a married man, but before he could save up enough to buy his wife’s freedom she was moved to St. Louis. He followed her here and eventually managed to purchase her freedom as well.
Did you know that an entire Manhattan village owned by black people was destroyed to build Central Park.
The community was called Seneca Village. It spanned from 82nd Street to 89th Street.
Blackdom, New Mexico
It was founded by Frank Boyer and Ella Louise McGruder and it was the first black town in New Mexico. It was a safe haven for our people. It had a population of 300 residents by 1908.
In 1919, the town struck oil!
The residents then created the Blackdom Oil Company, and they became set for generations of wealth but tragedy struck too…
The town suffered a drought and became uninhabitable. Families left and by the end of World War I, it was essentially a ghost town.
British exploiters displaying their loots after the punitive expedition of the Benin Kingdom, West Africa. The 1897 Benin Punitive Expedition saw Britain loot 4,000 artworks and massacre people. The invasion, driven by trade control, exiled Oba Ovonramwen(The Ruler)
A THREAD
The Kingdom of Benin, often referred to as the Great Benin Empire, was one of the most powerful and influential African states in pre-colonial West Africa. It has no historical relation to the modern republic of Benin, which was known as Dahomey from the 17th century until 1975.
The British were driven by both economic interests and the desire to expand their colonial influence. They aimed to establish control over the region and gain access to its abundant natural resources.