Smithsonian Institution Traveling Exhibition Service - About the Smithsonian Institution Traveling Exhibition Service's mission, history, and goals.

The dreams of flight, freedom, and the view from above inspired by the Wright brothers were not segregated, but for almost 50 years after they took to the skies, the paths to the training and expertise necessary to become a pilot were.

In the 1920s, for example, C. Alfred Anderson, who later became the owner of the Tuskegee Institute Flying School, was denied admission to any of the existing aeronautical schools and instead was forced to purchase his own plane.

The enormous impediments black aviators overcame and the important contributions they went on to make should be shared as widely as possible. Black Wings charts the groundbreaking, history-making, and patriotic paths of some very valiant men and women. This group of aviators is extraordinary. From Bessie Coleman securing a pilot’s license, through the Tuskegee Airmen and the integration of our armed forces, to Guy Bluford in space, the exhibition and its related content reveal a moving adventure and spirit of path finding.

Other scholarship and exhibition projects have explored African American aviation pioneers and their efforts to gain recognition as pilots. The tale of their struggles typically culminates in a commemoration of the Tuskegee Airmen and their heroics during the Second World War. Black Wings follows the same narrative arch but use the Tuskegee Airmen as a jumping off point to tell the untold story ofAfrican American aviation in the last 65 years.

The content of the exhibition is based on the book of the same title by National Air and Space Museum curator, Von Hardesty. The show covers significant figures, events, and themes associated with African Americans in aviation and aerospace history. It documents the struggles of those individuals who were systematically barred from the ranks of military and civil aviation, and highlight the parallels between the struggles of these aviation pioneers and those of the civil rights movement. Among other topics, the exhibition explores black aviation firsts, barnstormers, aerobatics, long distance flights, the Tuskegee Airmen, integration of the U.S. Armed Services, Vietnam and Korean conflicts, commercial aviation, and the involvement of African Americans in the space program.

This exhibition was generously supported by MetLife Foundation. By providing innovative programs such as Black Wings, MetLife Foundation continues its legacy of supporting programs that celebrate the heritage and achievements of the African American community.

Q. Want more #BlackWings? Follow us for trivia like this: Who was the first American to receive an international pilot's license?

A. Texas-born Bessie Coleman received her license in France on June 15, 1921.

Contents Text panels and graphics, artifacts, built components

Supplemental Banners and DVDS

Participation Fee $8,000

Size Approximately 2,500 square feet

Crates 10 crates (5 actual crates and 5 blanket wrapped cases on pallets)

Weight 4,102 pounds

Category History & Culture

Security Moderate

Shipping $3,585 (prorated)

SITES Contacts Marquette Folley, 202.633.3111 (Content/design)
Shavonne Harding, 202.633.3138 (Scheduling)

Tour Through July 2016

Dates		Host Institution	Status
07/02/2011-	09/25/2011	DuSable Museum of African American History, Chicago, IL	Booked
10/15/2011-	01/16/2012	Washington State Historical Society, Tacoma, WA	Booked
01/28/2012-	04/22/2012	Museum of Florida History, Tallahassee, FL	Booked
05/12/2012-	08/5/2012	Evergreen Aviation & Space Museum, McMinnville, OR	Reserved
08/25/2012-	11/18/2012	Museum of Texas Tech, Lubbock, TX	Booked
12/08/2012-	03/03/2013	Harvey B. Gantt Center, Charlotte, NC	Booked
03/23/2013-	06/16/2013	Spartanburg County Public Library, Spartanburg, SC	Booked
10/19/2013-	01/12/2014	Haggin Museum, Stockton, CA	Booked
02/01/2014-	04/27/2014	McKinley Presidential Library and Museum, Canton, OH	Booked
05/17/2014-	08/10/2014		Call for Availability
08/30/2014-	11/23/2014		Call for Availability
12/13/2014-	03/08/2015	Museum of History and Art, Ontario, CA	Booked
03/28/2015-	06/21/2015		Call for Availability
07/11/2015-	10/04/2015		Call for Availability
10/24/2015-	01/17/2016		Call for Availability

Black Wings: American Dreams of Flight
Exhibition Prospectus. Developed by the Smithsonian Institution Traveling Exhibition Service, 2010.

>>Free Download

Black Wings: Courageous Stories of African Americans in Aviation and Space History; hardcover; by Von Hardesty

Explores the history of African Americans in American aviation—from early biplanes to space flight. Text includes stories of Bessie Coleman, the first black woman with a pilot's license; Eugene Jacques Bullard, the first black American to fly in combat (during World War I, for the French); and C. Alfred Anderson, the first to earn a Commercial Pilot License, among many others. Published by the Smithsonian's National Air & Space Museum.

None listed at this time. Please check back again.