Opening the Airways: How Black Women Broke the Color Barrier in the Sky

In 1945, New York became the first state in the US to pass and sign a work-related civil rights bill into law. The Ives-Quinn Act, later known as the Law Against Discrimination, prohibited discrimination in employment based on race, creed, color, and national origin. It also established a permanent agency to enforce the law: the State Commission Against Discrimination (SCAD).

Several people filed complaints with SCAD. Many of the complaints related to airlines. The Commission did its best to respond and in 1956 it got 18 airlines that flew in and out of New York to formally agree to not partake in racial discrimination. However, most still did. So Black men and women wanting jobs in the airline industry had to fight for them and many of them did. For themselves and in the hopes of providing future opportunities for others.

Opening the Airways tells the story of aspiring Black flight hostesses who fought to break the color barrier in the sky. Check out the feature article in the Winter 2026 issue of New York Archives magazine and the recording of the Online Speakers Series!

The documents below are from the collections at the New York State Archives with the exception of the Ebony cover which is held by the New York State Library. The documents can be found in Series 10409 and B2003-09. The finding aids for these series can be found at the links below:

https://findingaids.nysed.gov/do/9bacd9ee-62c0-5149-98ad-a73dec022598 (Discrimination case files, Series 10409)

https://findingaids.nysed.gov/do/ae6dfaba-acf5-5bbd-8819-93b3f3d5a30d (Newsletters, Series B2003-09)

Click on each image below to learn more. Educators, be sure to check out the learning activities at the bottom of the page!