Ruth Carol Taylor (born December 27, 1931) is the first African-American flight attendant in the United States.[1] Her first flight was aboard a Mohawk Airlines flight from Ithaca to New York City in 1958.[2]
Early life edit
Born in Boston, Massachusetts, into a family of Black, White, and Cherokee heritage, her mother was Ruth Irene Powell Taylor, a nurse, and her father was William Edison Taylor, a barber. When Ruth was young, her family moved to a farm in upstate New York.[3]
Taylor attended Elmira College and graduated as a registered nurse from the Bellevue School of Nursing in New York City.[4][5][6]
Career edit
Hired in December 1957,[6] on February 11, 1958, Taylor was the flight attendant on a Mohawk Airlines flight from Ithaca to New York, the first time such a position had been held by an African American.[7] She was let go within six months as a result of Mohawk's then-common marriage ban.[8]
Taylor was later significantly involved in covering the 1963 March on Washington and as an activist for consumer affairs and women's rights.[5] She wrote The Little Black Book: Black Male Survival in America (1985), whose purpose is to "save lives - the lives of Black African Males who are on the Endangered list"[9] in view of the endemic racism in the United States towards African-Americans.
In 2008, 50 years after her historic flight, her accomplishments were formally recognized by the New York State Assembly.[5]
See also edit
References edit
- ^ Conrard, Don (November 16, 2005). "Promoting Diversity". Alaska's World. Alaska Airlines. Archived from the original on March 24, 2006. Retrieved November 7, 2011.
- ^ Owens, Heath (2020-08-21). "30 Historical Photos of Flight Attendants That Show How Much the Job Has Changed". Woman's Day. Retrieved 2021-10-28.
- ^ VanHouten, Matt (2011-01-06). "Ruth Carol Taylor (1931- ) •". Retrieved 2021-10-28.
- ^ "AVIATION: Another First", Time magazine, January 6, 1958.
- ^ a b c Eric Adams, "In the Constituent Spotlight: Ms. Carol Taylor!" The New York State Senate, July 28, 2009.
- ^ a b "Flight Attendants in Labor History", Femininity in Flight.
- ^ Booneville Herald
- ^ "The First African-American Flight Attendant in the United States", Airline Travel, February 12, 2010.
- ^ "Book Review of the Little Black Book: Black Male Survival in America: Staying Alive & Well in an Institutionally Racist Society by Ruth C. Taylor".
External links edit
- "30 Iconic Photos of Flight Attendants Through The Decades". Woman's Day.
- "Air Travel and Segregation". Smithsonian Air and Space Museum.
- "Take a photo tour of all the ways being a flight attendant has changed in the last 50 years". Business Insider.
- "Fly Girls: One of The First Black Flight Attendants Tells All". NBC News.