December 27, 1931 Ruth Carol Taylor, nurse, journalist and the first African American airline stewardess in the United States, was born in Boston, Massachusetts. Taylor graduated from the Bellevue School of Nursing as a registered nurse in 1955. After working as a nurse for several years, she decided to break the color barrier that existed for airline stewardess. Taylor applied to Trans World Airlines but was rejected. She then was hired by Mohawk Airlines in December, 1957 and on February 11, 1958 became the first African American airline stewardess on a flight. Six months later, Taylor married and was forced to resign because of the requirement that stewardess be single. Taylor moved to Barbados and founded the country’s first professional nursing journal. She returned to New York in 1977 and resumed her nursing career. She also co-founded the Institute for Interracial Harmony which developed a test to measure racist attitudes. Taylor published “The Little Black Book: Black Male Survival in America,” a guide to help young Black men succeed in a racist society, in 1985. (Source: Charles H. Wright Museum)
Posted on: Sat, 27 Dec 2014 19:14:38 +0000
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