With the renaming of James Herman Banning Ames Municipal Airport in Ames, Iowa, on June 17, 2023, there at the moment are eight airports in america named in honor of an amazing Black American. The lengthy journey to rename these airports serves as a reminder that there must be better illustration in our airspace and journey industries: solely a tiny fraction of the nation’s 19,000 airports bear the names of African Individuals.
We acknowledge Nationwide Air Visitors Management Day with these eight airports named for Black Individuals, who’re remembered each time we take a flight from one in every of these places.
James Herman Banning Ames Municipal Airport—Ames, Iowa
James Herman Banning cemented himself within the historical past of aviation when he grew to become one of many first Black pilots to efficiently fly from the west coast to the east coast in america within the early Thirties. As one of the vital notable Black pilots in early aviation historical past, the Iowa resident was honored with a renaming ceremony of the Story County airport in 2023. There, vacationers can even be taught extra about Banning’s record-setting accomplishments by means of an exhibit inside one of many airport’s terminals.
Frederick Douglass Higher Rochester Worldwide Airport—Rochester, New York
In 2021, Rochester, New York’s worldwide airport was formally renamed to acknowledge the accomplishments of Black abolitionist and Rochester resident Frederick Douglass. Situated within the third most populated metropolis within the state of New York, the renaming of the airport began with a sculpture. “Our venture ‘Re-energizing the Legacy of Frederick Douglass’ put 15 fiberglass monuments on the streets of the town of Rochester for the Frederick Douglass birthday Bicentennial, which was in 2018,” says Carvin Eisen, a professor at SUNY Brockport who helped spearhead the venture. One of many sculptures now finds its dwelling within the newly named Frederick Douglass Rochester Higher Worldwide Airport. “We suspect that someplace round one million vacationers a yr come right here. So this would be the first picture that they see of Rochester and the final picture that they take with them after they go away,” he declares.
Birmingham-Shuttlesworth Worldwide Airport—Birmingham, Alabama
Celebrated activist Fred L. Shuttlesworth stood robust in opposition to Jim Crow legal guidelines and lethal racism to see civil rights reforms come to fruition. The Mount Meigs, Alabama, native labored with different activist organizations within the Nineteen Sixties to prepare the historic Freedom Rides, marches and boycotts within the title of equality. In 2008, Shuttlesworth’s title was added to the state’s largest airport, which was renamed Birmingham-Shuttlesworth Worldwide Airport to honor the pastor’s legacy.
Baltimore/Washington Worldwide Thurgood Marshall Airport—Baltimore, Maryland
Formidable Baltimore lawyer Thurgood Marshall made historical past in 1967 when he was named a justice on the nine-panel United States Supreme Court docket, the primary Black American to ever maintain the place. All through the whole thing of his legislation profession and his 25 years on the Bench, Marshall advocated and secured victories for girls’s autonomy and civil rights. In 2005, the Maryland airport modified its title to the Baltimore/Washington Worldwide Thurgood Marshall Airport to honor this civil rights pioneer.
Louisville Muhammad Ali Worldwide Airport—Louisville, Kentucky
He is named “The Greatist,” so it is a nice shock to see an airport bearing the skilled boxer and activist’s chosen title. On June 16, 2019, the Louisville Muhammad Ali Worldwide Airport official bought its new title after its hometown boxing hero who was born and raised within the metropolis. The title change is hailed by many locally, particularly its Muslim inhabitants, who discover nice which means within the determination. Through the renaming celebration, Muhammad Ali’s daughter Maryum said that the title change may very well be a supply of hope. She shared that her father would have responded in true Ali vogue: “That is one thing, man. That is massive. That is lovely.”
Jackson-Medgar Wiley Evers Worldwide Airport—Jackson, Mississippi
World Conflict II veteran Medgar Evers devoted his life to advocating for racial equality after coming back from the navy. He labored tirelessly to desegregate schooling and eradicate Jim Crow in Mississippi, placing his personal life on the road for change. His assassination in 1963 spurred an intense outcry inside the Black neighborhood and a fiercer push for civil rights, with the Civil Rights Act being handed a yr later. In January 2005, Jackson renamed its airport Jackson-Medgar Wiley Evers Worldwide Airport, in honor of the civil rights martyr.
Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta Worldwide Airport—Atlanta, Georgia
The grandson of activist John Wesley Dobbs, Morehouse graduate Maynard Jackson made his personal historical past as the primary Black mayor of Atlanta. As he labored to reform the town’s police division throughout his two consecutive phrases as mayor, he paid particular consideration to the town’s airport. After working to develop and modernize the ability, the town voted to rename the airport to pay homage to the previous mayor after his loss of life in 2003. In the present day, Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta Worldwide Airport serves thousands and thousands of vacationers as one of many busiest airports in america.
Louis Armstrong New Orleans Worldwide Airport—New Orleans, Louisiana
Louis Armstrong is among the most beloved figures in music and a staple of the budding jazz scene of the Nineteen Twenties. Whereas the raspy-voiced musician labored to revolutionize the style with hits comparable to “What a Great World,” the New Orleans native, often called “Satch,” left his mark on all of America. In 2001, Armstrong’s hometown renamed their native airport to Louis Armstrong New Orleans Worldwide Airport to pay homage to the enduring Louisiana trumpeter.
