In an industry that is 92% Caucasian and 91% male, a Brooklyn man is hoping to expand diversity in the aviation field by offering free flying lessons to people of color. Jerome Stanislaus dreamed of being a pilot as a child, but says his skin color prevented him from initially committing to a pursuit in the industry.
“But I never believed that I would ever actually become a pilot,” he tells CNN. “I did not really believe it was possible — even though I had so much support from my family. I told myself I couldn’t do it because I had never seen a black pilot — not one time. I didn’t think that black kids actually grew up to be pilots. I thought it was just rich white kids.”
As a general aviation pilot, Stanislaus is offering children through young adults the opportunity to take to the skies. His program – we note is very on brand with TravelCoterie’s messaging – is called Fly For The Culture. One of the pilot’s students is a five-year-old girl named Amelia Cornibert, named after the legendary female pilot with
only a different last name: Earhart.