David E. Harris, trailblazing airline pilot, dies at age 89

David E. Harris, a former Air Force bomber pilot who at the height of the civil rights movement in the 1960s became the first Black pilot hired by a major commercial airline in the United States, died March 8 in Marietta, Georgia, about 20 miles northwest of Atlanta. He was 89.

His death, at a hospice center, was confirmed by his daughter Leslie Germaine.

American Airlines hired Harris in 1964, and he flew for the carrier for 30 years, rising to captain in 1967. In 1984, he made history for the second time with American when he flew with the first all-black cockpit crew on a commercial airliner.

Before Harris was hired, airline executives for years had discriminated against Black pilots out of fear that white passengers wouldn’t want to board the planes they flew and that it would be too difficult to find the pilots hotel accommodations.

“He knew that he was extremely qualified, so on paper he would seem like an ideal candidate to many commercial airlines,” Michael H. Cottman wrote in his book “Segregated Skies: David Harris’s Trailblazing Journey to Rise Above Racial Barriers” (2021). “But once he was brought in for an interview, and a prospective employer saw the color of his skin, he was concerned that he would face disappointment again and again.”

Harris, who had a light complexion and green eyes, also feared that airline employees might mistakenly think he was white. He decided to leave no doubt about who he was, ending his application letters by writing, “I’m married, I have two children, and I’m a Negro.”

Several airlines didn’t even bother replying.

Another Black pilot, Marlon D. Green, was among the first to fight back in court. He sued Continental Airlines for racial discrimination after he was denied a job in 1957. The case wound up in the U.S. Supreme Court, which ruled in Green’s favor in 1963; Continental hired him in 1965.

“Marlon Green is part of aviation and civil rights history,” Harris was quoted as saying in Cottman’s book. “He paved the way for me and for many other Black pilots who followed.”

In 1964, Harris received a telegram from American Airlines arranging for an interview in Dallas with the company’s chief pilot. Even after Green’s legal victory, Harris still had doubts about whether his qualifications were enough for him to get hired.

“I don’t want there to be any misunderstandings with you or your company,” Harris told the chief pilot, according to Cottman’s book. “I am a Negro. I’m a little concerned because I’ve put this in a lot of applications at other airlines and I was turned down.”

“Young pilot,” the chief pilot replied, “this is American Airlines. We don’t care if you’re Black, white or chartreuse. We only want to know this: Can you fly the plane the right way?”

Harris answered affirmatively.