The Life & Times of Aviation Pioneer Marlon Dewitt Green
read an excerpt (pdf)
read a review on Midwest Book Review
As incredible as it may seem today, until the mid-1960s major U.S. airlines refused to hire African-American pilots. It took Marlon DeWitt Green to challenge -and ultimately change- the entrenched system of segregation in the airline industry.
Green, a successful and accomplished Air Force pilot, supported by his wife and family, the efforts of his tireless Denver attorney, and a unanimous decision by the U.S. Supreme Court, finally opened the cockpits to pilots of color. But the victory did not come without immense personal pain.
Turbulence Before Takeoff is the story of Green's long and courageous struggle, set within the larger context of the battle for civil rights and equality that nearly tore America apart in the 20th century. It is an inspirational story of perseverance that won't soon be forgotten.
| Turbulence Before Takeoff Hardcover ISBN 13: 978-1-934980-66-8 ISBN 10: 1-934980-66-8 Retail $24.95 25% off for a limited time! $18.71 |
Turbulence Before Takeoff Softcover ISBN 13: 978-1-934980-67-5 ISBN 10: 1-934980-67-6 Retail $17.95 limited time! $13.46 |
|
The book is an amazing experience of seeing what Marlon’s and the family’s life was like. You [Flint] have done an excellent job researching and documenting the book, and your insert boxes of contemporary civil rights history are a great help in putting it all in perspective. What personal sacrifices lay along the road to realizing the ideals of our country! And of course, we have a long way to go.
Thank you for collaborating with this exceptional man and his family to bring this story to the attention of more people.
Jaren DuckerThere are a great many people deserving of thanks. First, I'd like to thank Paula Green for putting together this fabulous luncheon. Getting 40 very busy people together in the same place at the same time is no easy feat. Kind of like herding cats.
Many people also deserve a lot of credit for the book itself. My wife, of course, is the one who got the ball rolling five years ago....
If Nan Wisherd, my publisher in Wisconsin, were here, I'd give her a big pat on the head for being so enthusiastic about the project. Nan also just informed me yesterday that the Smithsonian Air and Space Museum in Washington has agreed to carry the book in time for the February 14th salute to African-American aviators.
I also want to acknowledge Mary Taylor Hassouna, who has kept all the files related to her late father's involvement in the Marlon Green case in perfect order and without whose help this project could never have been completed. And a hello to another of the Taylor daughters, Carol, who is with us today.
I also want to mention that the other Green children -- Joseph, Philip, Monica, and Marie -- were unable to attend, but I'm sure that they're with us in spirit.
I also want to acknowledge and welcome Cheryl Chew, the Executive Director of OBAP, the Organization of Black Airline Pilots, who flew in from Chicago specifically to be here for this festive occasion today. I know that she has many exciting ideas of how OBAP can spread the significance of Marlon Green to a whole new generation of pilots.
I also extend a hearty and personal welcome to James Green, one of Marlon's brothers, who came in all the way from Seattle. It was Uncle Jimmy, as I've called him ever since I was made an honorary member of the Green family in 2005, who showed me around the Greens' hometown of El Dorado, Arkansas, and gave me some insightful observations about growing up black in the South a half-century ago -- observations which I included in the book.
There are also a couple of people who aren't here today who deserve special recognition. The first is T. Raber Taylor, Mary's and Carol's father and a deeply religious man, who was Marlon's lawyer from 1958 until 1965, when Marlon finally went to work for Continental. As I write in the book, "the case was no longer just a legal case; to T. Raber Taylor it had taken on the trappings of a holy crusade." Without Taylor's tireless devotion to the cause, who knows how Marlon's quest for justice might have turned out. There are many, many others who deserve to be recognized (John Seigenthaler, Shirley Siegel, Floyd Dominy, etc.), but you will discover them in the book.
The other person whose absence is felt in this room today is the Greens' late son, Peter, who was, like all the Green children, a truly gifted, talented, and remarkable individual. We hope that he is looking down upon this gathering today, and smiling.
Last but certainly not least, I want to thank Marlon Green and Eleanor Green for all of their unstinting help and cooperation. This project began 5 years ago with my first interview of Eleanor. Then it was a trip down to Miami where Marlon was living, and two days of interviews. These were followed up by so many additional interviews that I've lost count.
Marlon's story of how he fought corporate discrimination simply to realize his dream of flying for a commercial airline is remarkable unto itself, but it is only half the story. The other half is Eleanor's story, and what she and Green the family endured before, during, and after Marlon's quest had been realized. Both Marlon and Eleanor and their children suffered greatly, but the wounds are still too fresh and too raw, and the pain has not gone away.
Marlon and Eleanor have shown an unbelievable amount of courage, not only for what they went through to break down the barriers to the cockpit, and the obstacles they had to surmount during their married life, but also the courage they demonstrated by allowing me into their private lives and letting me tell their story. My gratitude to them knows no bounds.
As one of their friends said to Eleanor recently, "Your family did a whole lot to make this country a better place, but you gave too much, suffered too much. You all gave or had taken from you too much of a normal, healthy life. You all were kind of lynched. You gave up about half your lives, because you fought racism so persistently and heroically. You are right up there with King and Malcolm X and the other race heroes. Marlon deserves his own holiday. And there should be monuments to your family in Washington DC and the other major cities."
Well, until those monuments start getting built, perhaps this book will stand as a small and humble monument to the Greens, their struggle, and their ultimate triumph.
Before closing, I would like to present this t-shirt to Marlon. I was in California a few weeks ago and visited the Planes of Fame Museum and couldn't resist picking up this shirt with a B-25 on it. Marlon first trained in multi-engine aircraft in the B-25, so it seems appropriate. Some of you might say, "Hey, wait a minute -- Marlon didn't fly in combat; he never got shot at." But even though he wasn't a combat pilot, he took many shots along the way.