AFRICAN & BLACK HISTORY Profile picture
Apr 26, 2023 12 tweets 5 min read Read on X
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… Image
Willa Brown was the first black woman to earn both a pilot's license and a commercial license. (Bessie got hers in France) Image
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. ImageImage
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. Image
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. Image
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. Image
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. Image
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. Image
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. ImageImageImage
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. Image
In 2001, Shawna Rochelle Kimbrell became the first Black woman to serve as a fighter pilot in the U.S. Air Force. Image
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Jun 28
On this day in 1947, Activist & member of the Black Panther Party Mark Clark was born.

He was assassinated together with Fred Hampton by Chicago police & FBI, both at 21 years Old.

William O'Neal, an FBI informant, infiltrated the Panthers & set up them up for $300

A THREAD Image
In Illinois, where Fred Hampton was born, Black communities faced relentless police harassment and systemic barriers to essential services like housing and education in predominantly Black areas.
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Jun 24
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Jun 21
Aunt Polly Jackson, was an escaped slave who worked as an agent on the Underground Railroad helping others escape.

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Jun 19
On this day in 1865, enslaved people in Texas were notified by Union Civil War soldiers about the abolition of slavery. This was 2.5 years after the final Emancipation Proclamation which freed all enslaved Black Americans. #Juneteenth 

But Slavery continued…

A THREAD Image
In 1866, a year after the amendment was ratified, Alabama, Texas, Louisiana, Arkansas, Georgia, Mississippi, Florida, Tennessee, and South Carolina began to lease out convicts for labor. Image
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Their primary responsibility being to search out and arrest black peoples who were in violation of ‘Black Codes’
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Jun 18
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Jun 14
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 Image
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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.
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