There Is Black History In Every Month

I just finished writing these words. 

Briefly, I thought about waiting until February to post the photograph and story, then realized how disrespectful that would be.

There is Black history in every month.

#DiscriminationIsNotPretty

Senator Ulysses Lee "Rip" Gooch, the subject of my 88-minute video years ago, described racial prejudice he encountered as an African-American pilot and businessman. 

This photograph is of a live interview we did for a popular morning network-television show in Tennessee.

Topic of morning television tend to be more superficial than profound, and it's always great publicity.

The two interviewers were upbeat about the scheduled premiere of the video.

As the interview progressed, I felt the discussion needed to go deeper. His life was not simply about being successful, it was about being successful in a white man's world, with ever-present barriers.

I brought up inequities Senator Gooch encountered, with this story: Early in his aviation career, he was teaching students, white, to fly airplanes. His students formed a club, and held regular meetings, however Rip was never invited to attend a meeting.

He mentioned his desire to attend a meeting. The club member stammered, "Well...we have these meetings in our HOMES...and...and...our WIVES are there...and...". 

I concluded with the dichotomy of these students trusting Rip with their lives while being taught how to fly, and being uncomfortable including him in other contexts.

The tenor of the interview changed; the once-smiling faces of our interviewers went from enthusiasm, to wondering how to recover the cheerfulness of their morning show.

Please read this book about Senator Gooch: "Black Horizons: One Aviator's Experience in the Post-Tuskegee Era" by Glen Sharp.