Hart's Family Stories Become American History
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Hart's
Family Stories Become American History
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by Philip Hart
As
we celebrate Black History Month, it is important to keep in mind that
family history is a critical starting point for gaining a better understanding
of one's past. In this regard, I would like to highlight my work that
started with family history and expanded to American history.
When I was growing up in Denver, Colorado, in the 1950s and 1960s, my
grandmother, mother, and aunt used to tell stories to me, my brothers,
and cousins about James Herman Banning, my grandmother's youngest
brother. Banning was a famous aviator during the golden age of aviation
in the 1920s and 1930s. They showed us photographs and newspaper clippings.
They told of his being the first black pilot to be licensed in the United
States in 1926. They told of his historic cross-country flight in 1932.
We were amazed and intrigued by these wonderful stories. However, I became frustrated when visiting my school library and the Denver Public Library to find that there was nothing about Banning and his feats. I knew photographs and clippings did exist, but they were nowhere to be found outside of our family albums. As a teenager I began my quest to find out more about Banning and why he was ignored in books about American aviation history.
This quest led to my work with the Smithsonian Institution's National Air and Space Museum to mount the Black Wings exhibit in September of 1982. The curators had originally planned a temporary exhibit. But when so many people like me came forth with photographs, clippings, and other material, the effort became a permanent and traveling exhibit.
No film document telling the story of America's early black aviators existed at that time. I resolved to produce a documentary and expose these stories to a television audience. This film, Flyers In Search of a Dream , was first broadcast on WGBH in 1986. The film had its premiere at the Museum of Science a week before broadcast in conjunction with the arrival of the Black Wings traveling exhibit to at the museum. In putting this film together, I uncovered film footage that was nearly lost to time and had it restored and integrated into the film. Subsequently I donated this footage to the Smithsonian Institution.
Reeve Lindbergh, Charles Linbergh's youngest daughter, saw this film when it aired on PBS in 1987. She loved the film, as it taught her about black men and women aviators who were her father's peers. Reeve is an author and has written many books for young readers. She convinced me that the stories told in this film could be the basis for great books for young readers. We found a publisher, and in 1992 Lerner Books published Flying Free: America's First Black Aviators. In 1996, Carolrhoda Books published Up in the Air: The Story of Bessie Coleman. In addition, Up In the Air has been optioned for production of a made-for-television movie.
Further, Touchstone Pictures has worked with me to develop a script,
telling the story of Banning's historic cross-country flight with
mechanic Thomas C. Allen, into a motion picture.
Recently the Los Angeles Times carried articles on Banning, Allen, and
Bessie Coleman, and Newsday Long Island has a feature article this month
on Banning and Allen. In addition, CBS News has completed a documentary
on America's black aviators for The History Channel to air on March
3 at 10:00 p.m. The Santa Monica Museum of Flying also is sponsoring
a major event this month on America's early black aviators.
The work I began in Denver, Colorado, as a teenager has been at the center of this activity. These neglected stories are now a part of American aviation history, while they had once been stories held together by family members. My younger brother Chris continues the legacy as a licensed pilot as well as the highest-ranking African-American executive at the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA).