I subscribe to the The Library of America Story of the Week email, which sends a link to a free short story every week.  I received a link to The Day I Sprouted Wings quite awhile ago and finally got around to reading it.
I hadn’t heard of J. Herman Banning before, so I was glad some background information was given about him first.  He was the first licensed African American pilot in the U.S.  He learned how to fly in Ames Iowa, one of the only places that would accept African Americans. He became a really experience pilot but in 1933 he was not allowed to enter an air show as a pilot because of his color,  so he went on as a passenger with a less experienced pilot.  Tragically they crashed and both died.
The story he wrote was about his days in training in Ames Iowa, the plane he built himself, and the roadblocks he fell up against.  It is a really a well written story as well as engaging.  I highly recommend it but be sure to read the background information about J. Herman Banning as well, it is an amazing story in itself!  You can read both here.


Tweet

Copyright 2007-2010: All the posts within this blog were originally posted by Teddy Rose and should not be reproduced without express written permission.