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About Portland observer. (Portland, Or.) 1970-current | View Entire Issue (Feb. 23, 1983)
W'ilia Brown (at righi, with an unidentified aviator) wat an early pioneer and avid promoter of aviation, earning her pilot's license in 19.37. She was co-founder. with Cornelius R Colley, of theCoffey School of Aeronautics at Harlem Airport in Chicago, which offered expert flight instruction to blacks unahle to obtain training elsewhere in the state Smthsonian Newt Sanica Photo l o u d « ) ot Harold Hurd The Challenger A ir Pilots Association, formed in 1931. was one of the first U.S. black flying clubs. Harold Hurd, standing beside a Davis D - l- K monoplane, was an active association member and a member of the first black class to graduate from the Curtiss-Wright Aeronautical School. la re co g n itio n o f the need lo r more q u a lifie d pilots o f all races, the Civilian Pilot Training Program was created in 1939 w ith fed eral funds. The program offered blacks an o p p o rtu n ity to receive flig h t tra in in g , though s till on a segregated basis. Schools such as the C o ffe y School o f A e ro n a u tic s , W a s h in g to n . D . C . ’ s H o w a rd University and Alabam a's Tuskegee In s titu te p a rtic ip a te d in the program By 1941, 102 blacks had th eir flying licenses, a tenfold increase in the num ber o f black A m eric an aviato rs in one decade, but still a m iniscule segment o f the tens o f thousands o f p ilo ts in the U n ited States. W ith w ar lo o m in g in E u ro p e , the A rm y A ir Corps decided to open m ilitary careers to blacks, activating the 99th Fighter Squadron in M arch 1941. By 1944, three additional air units joined the 99th, forming the well-known 332nd Fighter G roup under the command o f then-Coloncl Benjamin O. Davis, Jr. During W o rld W ar I I , the 332nd established an im pressive combat record. Serving p rim a rily in Ita ly and N o rth A fric a , the group flew m ore th an 13.000 co m b at sorties and downed 261 a irc ra ft, w inning the coveted D istin gu ised U n it Citation. P a rtic ip a tio n in the w ar e ffo r t brought a new sense o f pride to the black community, an expanded base fo r black involvem ent in av iatio n and a renewed ca ll to end segregation in the arm ed forces. T h a t call was answ ered in 1948 when President H a rry T ru m a n signed Executive Order 9 9 8 1. It was a beg in n in g . T o d a y , th an ks to persistent p io n eers, blacks participate in all aspects o f aviation, in careers ranging from airline pilot to design engineer and space shuttle astronaut. RDER YOURS NOW Thw book ibouW tw m ttw home ot «vary black and wtMia tamdy tn the Mata ot Oregon Thia book it dedicated to the mamonaa ot all the Mack woman who participated m tha Roaa Festival Thia book can ba youre tor only $6.95- at i Sand chack or m oney ordar to M orris Scholarship Inc F O So« 11107 Portland OR 17311 THE EBONY PRINCESSES OFTHE PORTLAND ROSE FESTIVAL 1967 1982 In an effort to open military careers to blac ks, the Army A ir Corps activated the 99th Fighter Squadron in March 1941. The 99th was later joined by three other black squadrons to form the 132nd Fighter Group. D uring the Italian Campaign in 1944, the 3.32nd flew P -3, Mustangs painted with a distinctive red tail marking. The "Red Tails," as they were called, flew more than 13,(XM) combat sorties and downed 261 enemy aircraft. Here, a Red T ail pilot is assisted for takeoff by his crew chief. Portland’s Dr. De Norval Untbank, a black physician, did n't consider him self a civil rights leader, but his tireless service to the com m unity helped remove many racial barriers In 1958 Dr. Unthank was named D octor o f the Year" by the Oregon Medical Association. He co-founded the Portland Urban League and was named “ Citizen o f the Year" by the National Conference o f Christians and Jews. On behalf o f o u r com m unity. KOIN-TV th a n k s Dr. Unthank. S mit M o n iin New» Servici Photo courtesy of Harold Hurd a KOH-TV S fT M lh io n tm f Service Photo courtesy o<U 8 A»f Forci Madame C.J. Walker Business acumen was also exhibited by a woman whose name has been synonymous with beauty. Born in Deha, La., in 1875 to poor ex-slave parents; orphaned and married at fourteen, she was widowed at twenty with a young child to raise alone. She then moved to St. Louis where she supported herself and her daughter by doing laundry. There, she met and married a newspaper man, Charles J. Walker. Madame C.J. Walker, as she became known, developed and manufactured cosmetics which she first began selling door-to-door through the South and Midwest. She invented the “hot comb" and her hair straightening process which initially brought her ridicule, but with which she eventually became the first black millionairess. Through her schools and correspondence course in beauty culture, she became the first black person in the modern world to develop a large manufacturing business. Madame Walker had great admiration for educators and became a patron of six black youths every year whom she would send to Tuskegee. In addition, she donated thousands of dollars annually to indigent youths for college educations at other institutions She offered Mrs. Bethune her friendship and funding for the college. Dismayed by the lynchings that were sweeping the country, she donated five thousand dollars to the National Council on Lynching. This remarkable woman died in 1919. Miller Brands, Inc. M A IN OFFICE: 5825 N.E. Skyport W ay, Portland, OR 97218 288-8831 BEAVERTON: 10100 S .W . Allen Blvd., Beaverton, OR 97005, 643-7414 Portland Observer, February 23, 1983 Section III Page 9 »