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On
December 3, 1964, two days after leaving the USAF, Harris became the first African American hired as a commercial airline pilot for a major U.S. commercial airline, American Airlines. Following the completion of nine-week training, Harris became an American Airlines co-pilot. Three years later, in
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four years later, while attending an international conference. Young's wife, Margaret, asked
American Airlines to locate the African-American pilot Young met years earlier. Margaret wanted the American Airlines pilot in question to fly her husband's remains back to the United States. When American
132:. His father was Wilbur Rothchild Harris Sr. (June 4, 1900 – July 31, 1989) and his mother was Ruth A. Estis Harris (March 19, 1903 – September 22, 1961). He had one brother, Wilbur Rothchild "Wil" Harris Jr. (November 1, 1932 – January 7, 2020), who served as a
242:. To avoid what Harris deemed to be an inevitable denial based on his race, Harris informed the interviewer that he was African American. The chief pilot conducting the interview responded: "This is American Airlines and we don't care if you're black, white or
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Airlines offered an all-African-American flight and cabin crew, Margaret balked: "That's not the way of the Urban League. It should be black and white together." Honoring
Margaret's wishes, Harris flew Young's body from Lagos, Nigeria, to
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there. He was then assigned to a number of bases across the U.S., including New York, Florida, Maine, and Texas, He was also assigned to an airbase in
England, where the U.S. Air Force maintained vigilance against the
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Before entering civilian life, Harris interviewed with several major U.S. commercial airlines for a pilot's job without success, largely denied a position on racial grounds. Although Harris was a light-complexioned
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After struggling with race-based housing discrimination during his assignments, Harris left the military on
December 1, 1964, to better support his wife and two children. He was discharged with the rank of
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who were qualified for airline jobs when they left the service. None of them received an opportunity to sit in a cockpit. There is no way I should be the first; it should've happened long before 1964."
545:"The View' celebrates Black History Month honoring heroes and role models: The daytime talk show highlights those who helped make a difference in America. Monday, Feb. 10, 2020: Captain David Harris"
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During a ceremony honoring Harris as the first
African-American commercial airline pilot, Harris remarked: "I'm honored and humbled by this award ... but the reality is that there were 500 pilots
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as white, Harris closed all of his application letters with the declarative statement "I'm married, I have two children and I'm black." In 1964, Harris interviewed with
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hired
African-American pilot Bill Norwood. Eventually, other major U.S. commercial airlines would hire their inaugural slate of African-American pilots, including
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Harris piloted a number of different types of commercial aircraft while flying at
American Airlines, including their largest at the time of his retirement, the
351:. Exiting his cockpit, Harris introduced himself to Young, and thanked him for helping African Americans get jobs in various fields, including aviation.
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The
Smithsonian National Air & Space Museum features Harris and his uniform, hat and other memorabilia in its "Black Wings in Aviation" exhibit.
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1967 Harris became the first
African-American male to achieve the rank of Pilot Captain for a major U.S. commercial airline.
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program on racial grounds. He was eventually granted admission, and once in the program, rose to the rank of cadet colonel.
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143:. Harris's grandfather was Reverend Henry Estis (January 5, 1863 – May 20, 1948), a formerly enslaved black American from
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Harris was considered a pioneer African-American commercial airline pilot. A year after Harris was hired by American,
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511:"American Airlines Captain Dave Harris, Ret., To Be Honored for Blazing the Trail for All Black Airline Pilots"
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commercial pilot and the first to achieve the rank of captain for a major American commercial airline.
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181:(USAF), following the receipt of a Reserve Officers Training Corps commission as a 2nd lieutenant.
116:(December 22, 1934 – March 8, 2024) was an American commercial airline pilot. Harris was the first
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744:"Black Airline Pilots: David E. Harris – First African American Pilot For American Airlines"
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Harris retired in 1994, after flying for American Airlines for a total of 30 years.
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816:"David E. Harris, first Black commercial pilot for major US airline, dies at 89"
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Harris grew up in an integrated neighborhood in Columbus, where he attended
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Harris' wife was Lynne Purdy Harris, and the couple had two children.
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205:, Harris piloted B-47s that were armed with nuclear weapons, and the
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483:"The first Black pilot of a commercial airline has died at 89"
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770:"American Airlines honors two African-American employees"
513:. Houston Style Weekly Style News Wire. August 20, 2020.
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Following his completion of basic flight training in
667:"Zion Baptist celebrating 105th anniversary Sunday."
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429:(OBAP), and also retained his membership with the
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246:, we only want to know, can you fly the plane?"
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16:American commercial airline pilot (1934–2024)
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795:. Smithsonian: National Air and Space Museum
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413:David E. Harris died on March 8, 2024, in
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588:. South Carolina Living. February 1, 2015
525:"American Celebrates Black History Month"
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453:features Harris in its permanent exhibit.
128:Harris was born on December 22, 1934, in
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425:Harris served as the president of the
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859:21st-century African-American people
854:20th-century African-American people
814:Taylor, De'Anthony (March 9, 2024).
768:Marta, Suzanne (February 27, 2008).
427:Organization of Black Airline Pilots
481:Blair, Elizabeth (March 13, 2024).
692:D.R. Stewart (February 28, 2008).
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642:"David Ellsworth Harris (1934– )"
640:Robert Fikes (October 29, 2017).
375:, and from LaGuardia Airport to
161:In 1957, Harris graduated from
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547:. ABC News. February 28, 2020
343:on one of Harris' flights in
331:Friendship with Whitney Young
138:Arlington National Cemetery's
874:American commercial aviators
527:. Monday, February 11, 2013.
523:American Airlines Newsroom.
177:In 1958, Harris joined the
141:Tomb of the Unknown Soldier
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746:. Aviation Online Magazine
431:Negro Airmen International
406:. He flew a single-engine
158:, a private high school.
145:Lunenburg County, Virginia
864:African-American aviators
394:and in Country Haven, an
225:Commercial airline career
124:Early life and education
775:The Dallas Morning News
404:Trenton, South Carolina
383:Personal life and death
287:McDonnell Douglas MD-11
85:United States Air Force
445:The American Airlines
392:Beverly, Massachusetts
279:Lockheed L-188 Electra
194:Boeing B-47 Stratojets
114:David Ellsworth Harris
34:David Ellsworth Harris
337:National Urban League
323:'s Irvory Carter and
211:Strategic Air Command
163:Ohio State University
94:Years of service
417:, at the age of 89.
377:Louisville, Kentucky
173:U.S. military career
663:Chillicothe Gazette
339:executive director
327:'s M. Perry Jones.
319:' Woodie Fountain,
869:Aviators from Ohio
586:"Aviation pioneer"
410:at Country Haven.
317:Northwest Airlines
793:"David E. Harris"
451:Fort Worth, Texas
447:C.R. Smith Museum
415:Marietta, Georgia
365:LaGuardia Airport
354:Young drowned in
240:American Airlines
190:Big Spring, Texas
156:University School
149:Chillicothe, Ohio
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69:Marietta, Georgia
49:December 22, 1934
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186:Orlando, Florida
118:African-American
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313:Delta Air Lines
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130:Columbus, Ohio
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490:. Retrieved
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345:Indianapolis
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275:Douglas DC-7
271:Douglas DC-6
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199:Soviet Union
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64:(2024-03-08)
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849:2024 deaths
844:1934 births
698:Tulsa World
644:. BlackPast
421:Memberships
267:Airbus A300
257:, plus the
838:Categories
465:References
263:Boeing 767
259:Boeing 727
255:Boeing 747
244:chartreuse
234:who could
45:1934-12-22
31:Birth name
822:March 10,
492:March 14,
192:, flying
134:U.S. Army
97:1958–1964
373:New York
285:and the
209:for the
203:Cold War
76:Service/
433:(NAI).
396:Airpark
360:Nigeria
349:Indiana
219:captain
213:(SAC).
106:Captain
437:Honors
325:Pan Am
277:, the
273:, the
269:, the
265:, the
78:branch
71:, U.S.
54:, U.S.
402:near
356:Lagos
824:2024
801:2021
752:2021
705:2021
650:2021
594:2021
553:2021
494:2024
236:pass
207:B-52
102:Rank
59:Died
39:Born
487:NPR
449:in
367:in
321:DHL
309:TWA
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