On Wings of Justice: How Aviation Helped King’s Dream Soar
From the south, to the north, to the east, to the far east. Martin Luther King’s dream of freedom took him all over the world. Today, Americans, who live in the land of the “birthplace of aviation,” are able to take advantage of the amazing opportunities that aviation provides: from visiting family, taking exotic vacations, or exploring career opportunities, some even becoming pilots! (Even though Blacks in aviation are still severely under represented, despite the fact that Bessie Coleman and the Tuskegee Airmen broke those barriers 100 years ago.) Aviation has become commonplace in today’s society, regardless of economic standing. But this has not always been the case. From the inception of the aviation industry, it was only reserved for the very elite, or in other words, the very White.
Not so long ago, it was illegal for Blacks and Whites to use the same bathrooms and water fountains, not to mention, be able to travel side-by-side. We often talk about the bus boycotts and how Blacks could not ride in the front of the bus. But it was unheard of, even unthinkable that man like Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., a Black man, from the South, would be able to get on an airplane to spread his message of hope and equality across the nation and around the world.
I’d love to see the glass stares, as he went through the airport checking his bags. I wonder how many people were actually in the “Blacks Only” section of the airport (if that even existed) seeing that nearly less than one half of 1 percent of the population of African-Americans on American soil, could even afford or be invited to participate in such a leisurely activity, flying.
Had it not been for air transportation, the message of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. would have been relegated to what the mainstream media machine deemed worthy of sharing… And I can tell you from historical record, that message was labeled “anti-American” and King himself was labeled an agitator and terrorist. King’s dream was perceived to be so much of a threat to the American dream, that he was targeted by the FBI and the CIA. But the restrictions, harassment and death threats that were imposed on him did not deter him from soaring higher and higher.
King flew from Birmingham Alabama, to Atlanta Georgia, to Memphis Tennessee, Chicago Illinois, Washington DC, even all the way to India. From flight to flight, King’s dream “took off” in a away that only he could have imagined. His ability to transform the minds of masses of individual was all summed up in his ability to reach them up close and personal. His final departure took place when his body was loaded onto an American Airlines aircraft, taking him from Memphis Tennessee where he was shot and killed on April 4, 1968.
On this MLK day, it is my hope that each and everyone of us can find new ways to help our dreams take flight. Where adversity, obstruction, hate, fear, uncertainty, boubt, anger, racism, and bigotry has stirred up a fierce headwind, we must remember that the wind serves to create a force that lifts us higher.
As with Dr. King, I too, use aviation to give wings to dreams. To find out more about my organization, the AeroStar Avion Institute, please visit www.avioninstitute.org.
