Oscar Holmes broke three color barriers in his lifetime, although he never set out to become a pioneer. Holmes was not only the first Black air traffic controller, he was also the U.S. Navy’s first Black commissioned officer and the military branch’s first Black pilot.
Holmes was born January 31, 1916 in Dunbar. W. Va. He attended West Virginia State College and graduated with a degree in chemistry in 1936. Three years later, he obtained a master’s in the same discipline from Ohio State University. Holmes became a chemistry professor at South Carolina’s Claflin College but quit because the pay was low.
Moving to Erie, Penn., Holmes took a power company job and entered a federal civilian pilot training program. Holmes long desired to fly and was already an excellent student. He excelled in the program and in 1941, he was hired by Civil Aeronautics Administration as an associate air traffic controller in New York. Promotions at the position were scarce so Holmes quit and joined the Navy a year later. (READ MORE)
