黑人女性在所有商业和军队中所占的比例不到0.5% pilots in the U.S.休斯正在通过指导下一代人来重塑她所热爱的行业 generation of aviators.
Lt. 08年的安吉尔·休斯(Angel Hughes)在很小的时候就知道自己属于群星之中.
当她六年级的科学老师向她介绍天文学时，她才11岁. 休斯是海地父母生的四个孩子中的一个，她想象着自己飞得很高 above the earth and beyond the atmosphere into space. There in that middle school science class, a dream was born. She wanted to fly.
Plenty of kids dream of flying. It’s the center of childhood fantasy and imaginary superpowers. Very few turn those dreams into reality. Hughes, however, was determined to do so.
Five years later, she would stumble upon an opportunity. Walking home one day in East 在新泽西州的奥兰治，她经过一个看似废弃的消防站，前面有一个牌子 said “Learn to fly here.休斯立即接受了这个公开的邀请 walked inside. 她找到了鹰飞行中队的一个分会，这是一个提供指导的非营利组织 and develops young aviators.
“我将永远记得我第一次踏上一架小型飞机进行介绍会的情景 flight at 16 years old,” said Hughes. “That feeling is indescribable.”
She was hooked. Hughes was on her way to becoming a pilot. She racked up flight time 在高中课程和繁忙的篮球和排球比赛之余， earning her private pilot certificate at age 17.
随着高中毕业的临近，休斯开始考虑航空学校. 她把目光投向了佛罗里达，那里全年都有飞行的天气，而且还有好几种 elite college aviation programs. One visit to Jacksonville University’s riverfront campus confirmed her path.
“JU swept me off my feet,” said Hughes. “The campus was beautiful, and I fell in love with everything they offered. Coming from a small high school in New Jersey, I liked that [JU] was small. They can give you a lot more focused attention.”
在杰克逊维尔大学的航空学院，休斯是个勤奋好学的学生 student and a member of Delta Sigma Theta sorority. She became a certified flight 当她积累飞行时间时，她开始指导JU，这是惯例 in the program. 她于2008年毕业，获得航空管理学士学位 和飞行运营公司，并准备进入跑道，但大衰退切断了 her wings a bit. Pilot jobs were hard to find.
休斯曾短暂地为菲尼克斯城外的一家小公司工作过，那家公司很快就倒闭了，所以她 moved back home to New Jersey. She was discouraged, but still determined. A close 她的一个朋友入伍当了陆军飞行员，并鼓励她考虑从军 path. 她照做了，很快就回到了驾驶舱内，飞往美国.S. Coast Guard.
休斯说:“军事承诺并不轻. “It’s a 10-year commitment, 所以这并不像上班、坐飞机、回家那么简单. You’re expected to lead and be well-rounded. 但与此同时，这是一个坚实、稳定的职业选择.”
2011年，休斯成为美国历史上第二位黑人女性固定翼飞行员.S. Coast Guard history. 驾驶HC-144海洋哨兵飞机，她的主要任务是搜索和 rescue operations, as well as cargo missions. No two days were alike.
“无论是在和平时期还是在战争时期，海岸警卫队总是有自己的使命 I love that,” said Hughes.
SOMETHING MISSING
从3万英尺的高空，休斯可以鸟瞰世界，这是她一直以来的梦想. But something was missing.
自从16岁第一次坐在驾驶舱里，休斯就没见过很多东西 of pilots who looked like her. She was the only Black woman in the aviation program 当时还没有黑人女飞行教官. Very few commercial and military pilots were Black women.
According to 2020 data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, only 3.4% of the 该国15.5万名飞行员和飞行工程师是黑人. Women make up just 5.6% of pilots in the U.S.在美国，黑人女性所占比例不到1%. 加起来，每年只有大约150名黑人女性在飞机甲板上. Hughes set out to change that.
“2016年，当我浏览Facebook时，我看到了Nia (Gilliam-Wordlaw)的作品 休斯在描述她第一次见到这位令人钦佩的人的那一刻时说 aviator who would soon become her mentor. “When I was at JU, we did a project for airline management, and my team was researching Boeing. At that time the Dreamliner 787 was in early production and I fell in love with it. My dream was to be a United pilot and fly the 787. And that’s what Nia was doing!”
休斯一时兴起，主动联系了他，两人很快就成为了朋友. One day they began naming the other Black women aviators they knew. The list wasn’t long enough, they agreed. 此后不久，两人决定成立一个黑人女性网络组织 aviators. They named it Sisters of the Skies (SOS).
几个月后，他们在奥克布鲁克组织了该组织的第一次见面会，
Illinois. 对于参加活动的女性来说，仅仅是在一个地方聚在一起就令人鼓舞
休斯说，通过他们共同的经历建立联系是令人鼓舞的.
“有一种看法认为，少数族裔没有那么合格，他们是多元化的
hires, which is not true,” said Hughes. “My mentors in SOS still inspire me; I still
feel like a fan girl!”
消息迅速传开，在不到一年的时间里，天空姐妹会发展到超过 100名成员，代表了美国65%以上的黑人女飞行员.S. In 2017, the SOS的成员建立了一个非营利性组织，并创造了一个使命 to increase the number of Black female pilots in the U.S. through mentorship and scholarships. Hughes serves as First Officer and Chair of the Board. SOS hosts an annual gala that 帮助筹集奖学金来支持下一代飞行员. To 迄今为止，该组织已经颁发了超过10万美元的奖学金.
“看到这些女性所经历的挑战，这只是表明她们是如何 我和我的导师们都经历过同样的挣扎，”休斯说. “With each 姑娘，全球网络赌博平台正在为行业多元化做出贡献.”
休斯还亲自花时间指导那些梦想成为女性的年轻女性 pilots. 她同时接受了十几个或更多的学员——“我所有的孩子” she calls them. “Without mentorship you have nothing; I wouldn’t be here without mentorship,” 休斯说，她仍然与杰克逊维尔大学的导师保持联系. “全球网络赌博平台的每一个成员和学员，我都把认识每一个人作为我的使命 of them, because I feel they’re representing me.”
After 11 years serving in the U.S. Coast Guard, Hughes transitioned out of active 并开始为UPS驾驶波音757/767飞机. She continues to serve in the Coast Guard Reserves. 当被问及航空业的未来时，休斯说 said the pandemic has changed everything. The pilot shortage is impacting the industry 她说，在很大程度上，航空公司正在努力消除障碍，创造机会 more pathways for future pilots to join their ranks. More than anything, she hopes to see more Black women like her in the pilot’s seat.
