First African Americans to Cross North American by Airplane
In 1932, aviators J. Herman Banning and Thomas C. Allen became the first African Americans to fly cross North America in a plane. Their journey began in Los Angeles and ended in New York.
The aviators made many stops along the way to raise money for gas and tell people about their trip. Banning had experience as a pilot, so he did most of the flying. Allen knew how to repair the airplane and keep it running throughout the trip.
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