Black First of the Day
Who first broke the color barrier to become a flight attendant?
- She broke the color barrier as a means of fighting discrimination rather than due to her interest in becoming a flight attendant.
- For more than a year her job applications were repeatedly rejected by major airlines.
- She was eventually hired by Mohawk Airlines and based in New York.
- She also wrote The Little Black Book, a survival guide for young black men in a racist society.
1958
Ruth Carol Taylor (1931-)
In 1958 Ruth Carol Taylor became the first black flight attendant. She broke the color barrier as a means of fighting discrimination rather than due to her interest in becoming a flight attendant. For more than a year major airlines had rejected her application; then at age twenty-five, Mohawk Airlines hired her and assigned her to travel between New York and other points such as Massachusetts and Michigan. Taylor is a native of Trumansburg, New York. She studied at the Bellevue Hospital Nursing School and became a private nurse. In later life, she continued her fight against injustice. She also wrote The Little Black Book, a survival guide for young black men in a racist society.
Sources: Gubert, Sawyer, and Fannin, Distinguished African Americans in Aviation and Space Science, pp. 268-71; Jet 91 (12 May 1997): 40; 13 (6 February 1958), cover, 22-23.
From Black Firsts: 4,000 Ground-Breaking and Pioneering Events by Jessie Carney Smith, © 2013 Visible Ink Press®. A celebration of achievement, accomplishments and pride.
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