This Black History Month, there is a rich history of black aviators, from Bessie Coleman, the first African American to get her pilot license in the 1920s, to the Brave Tuskegee Airmen of World War Two. Now, Despite that, employment numbers show that African Americans are underrepresented in the field of aviation.
But as Matt Gregory found out, an historically black fraternity in Northern Virginia is trying to change that, one student at a time. It’s Saturday afternoon and Naomi Hill gets ready. I’m looking at my altitude to land a plane and how far away I am from my airport.
So we are learning how to get from one airport to another without being able to see outside of your aircraft. Twice a month, Naomi and a group of other kids meet at the Kappa Alpha Psi alumni building in Alexandria and learn to fly. Not only are we teaching them about black history,
That they are becoming black history. A few years back, Kappa Alpha size Alumni Group recognized a career path. With a significant racial disparity aviation in the last census, the federal government reported roughly only 2% of commercial pilots in the United States were black. If I had been exposed to
Something like that when I was 10-15 years old, I don’t know, maybe I would be a pilot and they wanted to do something about that. So the brothers built an aviation program looking for a fun program where the middle and high school students in the program, the kids,
Learn the basics taught by former pilots like naval aviator AJ Johnson. So we talked about it. Do the tabletop. Then we’ll go over to the flight room. This is the really fun part. Using Grant money, Kappa Alpha Psi bought 5 flight simulators yoke, which is equivalent to a steering wheel.
Rattle controls their speed. The students practice taking off, navigating, and landing their planes all from their seats in Alexandria. Then at the end of the course, they do something really special. Fly a real plane for the first time. Not as scary as you think it would be, but first time you go up.
I’m controlling a plane. I’m literally. Flying in the air, it’s great. And the brothers of Kappa Alpha Psi have done this program for several years now with the help of grant money from the Northern Virginia Urban League. They were able to get it off the ground,
So to speak. And they continue to fund the program through donations and grants. Guys, ohh. How incredible is that Matt? Did you get on the plane with that? No, I did not get on the plane yet. I I’m afraid of heights. And you know, they they are amateur pilots.
Now, the kids say that we actually didn’t get to go to the actual runway. They it’s like something to do with the end of the course. And like every one of those kids is going to be behind a plane at some point in the next, you know, month or so.
And it’s like something that I would have dreamed of as a kid and I never got to do. What a great experience that is. Both Larry and I, members of the Divine Nine of black fraternities and sororities, we salute you, Kappa Alpha Psi. And thank you, Matt. What a great story.
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