David E. Harris, a former Air Force bomber pilot who at the peak of the civil rights movement within the Nineteen Sixties became the primary black pilot employed by a significant business airline within the United States, died March 8 in Marietta, Georgia, across the thirtieth km northwest of Atlanta. He was 89 years old.
His death at the hospice center was confirmed by his daughter, Leslie Germaine.
American Airlines hired Mr. Harris in 1964, and he flew for them for 30 years, reaching the rank of captain in 1967. In 1984, he made history with American for the second time when he flew the primary all-black cockpit crew on a business airliner.
Before Mr. Harris was hired, airline management had for years discriminated against black pilots out of fear that white passengers wouldn’t need to board the planes they flew and that it might be too difficult to search out them hotel accommodations.
“He knew he was extremely qualified, so on paper he seemed like the perfect candidate for many commercial airlines,” Michael H. Cottman wrote in his book “Segregated Skies: David Harris’s Trailblazing Journey to Rise Above Racial Barriers” (2021). . “But when he was brought in for an interview and the potential employer saw the color of his skin, he began to fear that he would be disappointed again.”
Mr. Harris, who had fair skin and green eyes, was also concerned that airline staff might mistakenly think he was white. He selected to depart little doubt as to who he was, ending his cover letters with, “I am married, I have two children, and I am a black man.”
Several airlines didn’t even trouble to reply.
Another black pilot, Marlon D. Green, was one among the primary to fight it in court. He sued Continental Airlines for racial discrimination after being denied a job in 1957. The case ended up before the U.S. Supreme Court, which ruled in Green’s favor in 1963; Continental hired him in 1965.
“Marlon Green is a part of aviation and civil rights history,” Harris said Mr. Cottmanbook. “He paved the way for me and many other black pilots who followed in his footsteps.”
In 1964, Mr. Harris received a telegram from American Airlines requesting an interview in Dallas with the corporate’s chief pilot. Even after Green’s legal victory, Harris still had doubts whether his qualifications were enough to be hired.
“I don’t want there to be any misunderstanding with you or your company,” Mr. Harris told the chief pilot, in response to Mr. Cottman’s book. “I am a Negro. I’m a little concerned because I’ve applied for this on many other airlines and been rejected.”
“The young pilot,” the chief pilot replied, “is American Airlines. We don’t care if you are black, white or chartreuse. We just want to know this: Can you fly the plane the right way?”
Mr. Harris replied within the affirmative.
David Ellsworth Harris was born on December 22, 1934 in Columbus, Ohio. His father, Wilbur Harris Sr., was a plumber, electrician and carpenter who installed gas station equipment. His mother, Ruth Arlene (Estis) Harris, ran the farm.
Mr. Harris attended Ohio State University, where he studied education and was a member of the Air Force ROTC. After graduating in 1957 with a bachelor’s degree and an Air Force commission, he began flight training at Bartow Air Force Base in Florida, where he flew B-52 and B-47 bombers. He retired in 1964 as captain.
Mr. Harris married Linda Dandridge in 1958. They divorced in 1984 but remained lifelong friends. His second wife, Virginia Lynne Harris, died in 2000. In addition to his daughter, Leslie, he’s survived by one other daughter, Camian Harris-Foley; six grandchildren; and two great-grandchildren.
In 1971, Whitney M. Young Jr., executive director of the National Urban League and a outstanding leader of the civil rights movement, drowned while swimming in Lagos, Nigeria.
Mr. Young’s wife chartered an American Airlines plane to move her husband’s body from a funeral in New York to a burial in Kentucky. Several civil rights leaders will likely be on board, including the Rev. Jesse Jackson. She asked for Mr. Harris to act as pilot.
As Mr. Harris left the home that morning, his wife joked, “For God’s sake, don’t screw it up. You will destroy the entire civil rights movement!”
Mr. Harris considered this flight probably the most necessary of his profession.
“I was flattered that she asked me for a charter flight,” he said. “It was an honor.”
