State of New York, American, founded 1788 Search this
Subject of:
Patricia Banks Edmiston, American, born 1937 Search this
Capital Airlines, American, 1936 - 1961 Search this
Medium:
ink on paper (fiber product) with metal
Dimensions:
H x W (each page): 14 × 8 9/16 in. (35.5 × 21.7 cm)
Type:
legal files
Place depicted:
New York City, New York, United States, North and Central America
Date:
February 29, 1960
Caption:
Patricia Banks, a native New Yorker, fought discrimination by filing a lawsuit against Capital Airlines through the New York State Commission Against Discrimination. A graduate of the Grace Downs Air Career School, Banks applied to several airlines companies for a stewardess position, but was repeatedly denied employment. In 1957 she filed a suit against Capital Airlines (which later merged in 1961 with United Airlines), and in 1960 the Commission ruled in her favor and ordered the company to hire her. Banks completed the Capital Airlines stewardess training program that year and became the first African American to work as a flight attendant on a commercial carrier. She resigned a year later in order to pursue her education.
Description:
A paper copy of the ruling filed by the New York State Commission Against Discrimination in "Patricia Banks vs. Capital Airlines", dated February 29, 1960.
The document consists of four photocopied pages, black ink on white paper, stapled in the upper left corner. The original document had been typewritten with handwritten dates and signatures. The first two pages (a-b) outline Banks's suit, filed for her by the New York State Commission Against Discrimination. The last two pages, 26 and 27 (c-d) outline the courts "Order".
Collection of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture, Gift of Casey Grant in honor of Patricia Banks Edmiston, Patricia Grace Murphy and Eugene Harmond
