After working as a one-man show trying to expose minority kids to careers in aviation, Dwayne Quick says one memory from an event he put on last year made it all worthwhile.
A 16-year-old boy told him, “I’ve never seen a black pilot before.”
That teenager was one of 30 kids who spent much of the day flying in planes flown by black pilots who came to Jacksonville after Quick either reached out to them personally or to organizations. Quick had participated in similar educational events throughout the country and wanted to play a role in inspiring children here.
After working as a one-man show trying to expose minority kids to careers in aviation, Dwayne Quick says one memory from an event he put on last year made it all worthwhile.
A 16-year-old boy told him, “I’ve never seen a black pilot before.”
That teenager was one of 30 kids who spent much of the day flying in planes flown by black pilots who came to Jacksonville after Quick either reached out to them personally or to organizations. Quick had participated in similar educational events throughout the country and wanted to play a role in inspiring children here.
Quick, who lives in Jacksonville, knows that he’s different. In the last five years, he’s flown to 63 countries while working for a charter airline with trips that include humanitarian missions like evacuating people from Afghanistan, as well as flying military, sports figures, and others all over the world. At 35, this American Airlines pilot is grateful that his mentor was a Tuskegee Airman, among the first African-American military aviators in the U.S. armed forces during World War II.
Both of Quick’s parents were in the Air Force. His father was an aircraft mechanic. Quick got his first airplane ride at age eight. He was fortunate to take flying lessons at age 14. At 17, he got a pilot’s license — before he even got a driver’s license. Later he too joined the Air Force.
And as much as he appreciates aviation pioneers like the Tuskegee Airmen, who paved the way for him, unfortunately, things haven’t changed much. Right now only three percent of pilots are Black and one percent are women, according to the Organization of Black Aerospace Professionals.
According to 2020 data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, about 94 percent of the country’s 155,000 aircraft pilots and flight engineers identified as white. And just over 10 percent combined of pilots and engineers listed as Black, Latinx (5 percent), or Asian (2.2 percent).
In 2020, Quick started the 332nd Heritage Foundation Inc. nonprofit. Then last year he went all over Jacksonville visiting schools and organizations to try to find kids who might be interested in participating in a new event. The first year, because of COVID-19, only 30 kids participated. This year, 93 children attended the Feb. 19 event at Cecil Airport.
During Black History Month, when people and organizations are recognizing important contributions and achievements of African Americans throughout our nation’s history — including celebrating the roots of Jacksonville’s Black history — it’s important to recognize people like Quick. He’s using historical change-makers like the Tuskegee Airmen as a way to offer hope for the next generation.
He says it’s all about exposure because you don’t know what you don’t know. The “Climb” event attracted children of various ethnic groups last year, but Quick is especially passionate about exposing minority and underprivileged children.
“Inclusion of one does not mean exclusion for another,” he said. “But what we’re trying to do is to even the playing field, so that when people say hiring comes from an equal pool, it is an equal pool,” Quick said.
The Jacksonville Aviation Authority is among his supporters.
“Climb 22 is a wonderful event, spearheaded by Dwayne Quick and in partnership with the Jacksonville Aviation Authority, designed to educate underprivileged youth about the aviation industry,” said Michael Stewart, a spokesman. “While at Climb, attendees will have an opportunity to speak with aviation professionals, understand potential career paths in the industry and ride in an aircraft. While the event may only last one day, we hope the impact will last a lifetime.”
Article Credits: JacksonVille.com