Watch: How Patricia Banks-Edmiston broke skyward barriers
We continue Keeping Black History Alive by shining a spotlight on Patricia Banks-Edmiston, the first Black flight attendant. Patricia Banks-Edmiston […] The post Watch: How Patricia Banks-Edmiston broke skyward barriers appeared first on TheGrio.
UnmutedNews
We continue Keeping Black History Alive by shining a spotlight on Patricia Banks-Edmiston, the first Black flight attendant.
Patricia Banks-Edmiston was one of the first African-American flight attendants who helped break barriers in the sky. Born in New York City in 1937, Banks-Edmiston attended Queens College. After reading a news article about the Grace Downs Air Career School, she knew she wanted to travel the world as a flight hostess.
Banks-Edmiston graduated with high marks from Grace Downs. But at the time, pilots, engineers, and flight attendants were rarely Black. One place she applied to, Capital Airlines, told Banks-Edmiston that “the company didn’t hire Black people in flight capacities.” She would go on to file a suit against Capital Airlines for racially discriminatory hiring practices.
Never miss a beat: Get our daily stories straight to your inbox with theGrio’s newsletter.
The post Watch: How Patricia Banks-Edmiston broke skyward barriers appeared first on TheGrio.
