William (Bill) Broadwater, 77, began his formal aviation career in March 1944 as a pilot trainee and member of the Tuskegee Airmen. Upon discharge from active military duty in 1946, he returned to school and five years later became a CAA (now FAA) air traffic controller at LaGuardia Airport in New York. He spent 29 years at the FAA before retiring in 1980. His last position at FAA was as Chief of the Air Traffic Control (ATC) Flight Services Division. Bill was an original member of the U.S. government's Senior Executive Service (SES) and reached the highest level of any African American in the history of FAA Air Traffic Service Management. He now has his own consulting firm based in Upper Marlboro, Md. He holds a commercial pilot's license with 3,000 hours as Pilot-In-Command.

You undoubtedly faced numerous challenges in your 30 plus years in aviation. Are there any particular instances that stand out?

There were big-time challenges. A good example was in 1948 when I applied for a job with Eastern Airlines. I took the test with 100 people and scored in the top five; I never heard from the airline. I contacted the president, who at the time was General Eddie Rickenbacker. We were in the same command in Louisville, Ky. I asked if anything was wrong. They said yes since I scored so well I should have heard from them already. He suggested I take the test again.

I took it again and this time made the third best score out of 100 people taking the test. Again, I never heard from the airline so I contacted them. This time their PR guy came to my house and gave me the news that Eastern could not hire me because its flights emanate out of Atlanta and he claimed that people would not get on the airplane after me. I suggested he put me on first and close the door when I get in. He didn't think that was too funny.

He told me he was sorry, but there wasn't anything he could do.

Do you feel there enough African American role models when you were growing up? Who was your role model?

When I was a 10-year-old, "Chief" Alfred Anderson, the first black commercial pilot in America, was a neighbor of mine in Bryn Mawr, PA, and was a role model of mine. He was fascinated with flying. After borrowing money from people in the neighborhood, he bought a little airplane, but no one would teach him to fly. He roughed it out on his own and crashed after just 20 hours. Then a German gentleman who had an airport north of Philadelphia agreed to teach him to fly. I ran into Chief again when I first went to Tuskegee. When I arrived Chief Anderson was the head of the civilian flying program, he and his wife welcomed me like their son. He would end up giving me my 20-hour and 60-hour check rides.

Are there enough African American role models in aviation for young people today?

They're there, but I don't think young people get to see enough of them. We still have over 500 black airline pilots, women even. Many of the black aviation groups do a lot of things together to try to bring in kids, including youth lunches and mentoring programs, but somehow we're not whetting their appetites enough.

Keep in mind that I just don't sell piloting. I sell all the other ancillary jobs that go with aviation, such as mechanics and weather people. I don't know what it is; I know they [young people] have more avenues these days.

Specifically, what programs do you have in place?

We [The Tuskegee Airmen Inc.] started a program in 1998 where we take in 15-year-old kids and put them in a flight program. We give them ground school so they can get their flying permits at 16. We start them flying and take them up through solo. If they look very good, we take them through their private license. We hold fundraisers to support that program and the national organization has a scholarship program worth $50,000 a year, we give out 40 or so aviation scholarships and give grants through our individual chapters.

Personally, I go to schools and talk to kids about aviation. I'm alarmed at the lack of interest in flying.

What kind of influence do you feel you have had on advancing the agenda of African Americans in aviation?

I was instrumental in getting two of the first black pilots in the airlines. One of them worked for me as an air traffic controller in New York. He eventually became the first black captain and flew for American; the other man was flying for Western Airlines.

When I was at FAA, I was able to not only have enforcement but also advise the top echelon as they made their decisions. When I came to the New York center I was the only black, when I left there were 34 blacks working there, because I took over hiring as part of my job.

Between 1946 and 1960 there were not enough blacks in any significant positions in aviation. The ones who stayed in the military were scrambling trying to stay in and get ranked. Many that left weren't able to connect in aviation, and in most cases, and nobody would hire them even if they made a connection.

Things began to change in the late '60s when FAA brought a suit against them under the EEOC laws to make them hire more black pilots.

We're focusing on this subject in honor of black history month. What impact do you feel pioneers and aviators like the Tuskegee Airmen have had on the industry?

Early on we didn't have any effect. In the period between 1946 and 1960 everything was buried. You heard nothing in the way of black aviators -- in fact even the Tuskegee Airmen were unheard of. Our story wasn't told at all until we decided to get together in 1969 and started forming groups like the Negro Airmen International.

The Air Line Pilots Association once had a clause in their contracts with the airlines that stated they would not hire 'Negroes'. I know it's not in there now, but I was shocked when I learned about it. I was told then that it was part of what the military had declared in 1925 that 'Negroes' weren't fit to do anything but menial chores and they didn't have the mentality, the courage or the intelligence to serve as pilots. That's why Tuskegee Airmen are so significant. They killed all of those myths, in a hurry.

--Broadwater was interviewed by Patricia Brown

Special Report: Blacks In Aviation