Storming the Heavens: African Americans and the Early Fight for the Right to Fly

by Gerald Horne Narrated by Bill Andrew Quinn

Overview

The recent Hollywood film Hidden Figures presents a portrait of how African American women shaped the U.S. effort in aerospace during the height of Jim Crow. In Storming the Heavens, Gerald Horne presents the necessary back story to this account and goes further to detail the earlier struggle of African Americans to gain the right to fly. This struggle involved pioneers like Bessie Coleman, who traveled to World War I-era Paris in order to gain piloting skills that she was denied in her U.S. homeland; and John Robinson, from Chicago via Mississippi, who traveled to 1930s Ethiopia, where he was the leading pilot for this beleaguered African nation as it withstood an invasion from fascist Italy, became the personal pilot of His Imperial Majesty, Haile Selassie, and became a founder of Ethiopian Airways. Additionally, Horne adds nuance to the oft told tale of the Tuskegee Airmen and goes further to discuss the role of U.S. pilots during the Korean war in the early 1950s. He also tells the story of how and why U.S. airlines were fought when they began to fly into South Africa-and how planes from this land of apartheid were protested when they landed at U.S. airports.

Editorial Reviews

Library Journal - Audio

★ 06/01/2019

As the advent of flight changed the very nature of the 20th century (politically, technologically, militarily, and economically), it also changed the world socially. African Americans fought for the right to take the same risks and to enjoy the same rewards as the other pioneers of aviation. This book explores how peoples of African heritage worldwide fought to convert this dream into a reality, be it connecting with others of similar ideas on another continent or country or simply enjoying a vacation to another city in a timely fashion. To showcase the ability of African Americans to experience the modernity provided by flight enjoyed by white Americans is clearly a goal of this book. It was a reality of the freedom to fly and be more productive, it should also be seen as a key point in the crumbling of Jim Crow restrictions. Several examples from African American intellectuals, activists, aviators, and future space enthusiasts are provided in ample quantity. The narration of Bill Andrew Quinn demonstrates his obvious excitement for the topic.VERDICT Highly recommended.—Scott R. DiMarco, Mansfield Univ. of Pennsylvania Lib.

Product Details

BN ID:	2940170215409
Publisher:	HighBridge Company
Publication date:	12/18/2018
Edition description:	Unabridged

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