William J. Powell

William Jenifer Powell was born on 27 July 1897 in Henderson, Kentucky, and came of age in Chicago, where his family settled during his youth. A gifted student, he graduated early from high school and enrolled at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign to study engineering, embarking on a path few Black Americans of his generation were permitted to walk.

When the First World War drew the nation overseas, Powell interrupted his studies to enter Army officer training. Commissioned a lieutenant, he served in Europe with the 365th Infantry Regiment, where exposure to poison gas left wounds that would shadow the rest of his life. Returning home, he completed his degree and built a chain of gasoline and automotive service stations in Chicago, prospering in business before a single flight changed his course.

Denied a seat at white flying schools, Powell resolved to open the sky to his people. He sold his businesses, moved to Los Angeles, and in 1929 helped found the Bessie Coleman Aero Club, named for the pioneering Black aviator. The club trained pilots and mechanics, published the trade journal Craftsmen Aero News, and in 1931 staged one of the first all-Black air shows in the United States, drawing thousands.

In 1934 he published Black Wings, a stirring manifesto urging African Americans to claim their place in aviation and industry. Powell died on 12 July 1942, at forty-four, his health broken by his wartime injuries. He gave his people wings and the courage to believe the sky was theirs. May his name rise as high as the dream he served.