The Pilot Who Outsmarted Racism and Took Flight Against All Odds

marlon looking back
Tremain Prioleau II
January 9, 2025

In 1957Marlon Green wanted to take his military flying skills commercial. He happily applied for a pilot position with Continental Airlines, but knowing his skills might not be enough to get him hired, he pulled a fast one.

Green left the box for “race” unchecked. What seemed like an oversight was strategic genius: Green made it to the final round of six applicants. Continental was eager to welcome him aboard, that is, until they saw him up close.

In 1950, Marlon Green was one of the first few Black candidates accepted into basic pilot training school after President Truman desegregated the military. Green had thousands of flight miles under his belt, but being Black made Continental Airlines wary, so they refused to hire him. But Green wouldn’t go away.

After going through several lower courts, Marlon Green’s case reached the Supreme Court in 1963. The Court ruled that Continental had to hire Green.  He was hired in 1964. Green would fly for 14 years, because he fought back against the system that tried to crush his dream.

Racism may attempt to keep us from the opportunities we deserve, but we can’t give up. Just like Marlon Green, we have to take every advantage and use every trick in the book to defeat white supremacy.

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