Middle-Class African American Pilots: The Continuing Significance of Racism

This article examines the experiences of African Americans employed in the historically white airline industry. We conducted in-depth interviews with African American pilots currently employed in our nation’s commercial aviation industry. In recent decades, a strong argument has been made that race has been declining in significance as African American professionals make great strides in levels of education and positions of power. As our research suggests, this perspective does not take into account the often racialized experiences or the marginalization African Americans face once they have entered various industries. Ultimately, our research suggests that an extensive theory of systemic racism remains necessary in order to understand the mechanisms by which middle-class African Americans maneuver and cope with racism in predominately white work spaces.