The Capt. Marlon Green
When Marlon Green wanted a flying job with Continental Airlines more than 50 years ago, the company wouldn’t give him the time of day. Now they’ve named an airplane after him.Green, who died last year at the age of 80, had to take his case to the U.S. Supreme Court to get hired as the first Afric…
Green, who died last year at the age of 80, had to take his case to the U.S. Supreme Court to get hired as the first African-American pilot for a major airline in 1965. As Continental CEO Jeff Smisek said during a February 9 naming ceremony for the company's new Boeing 737 , "He sued us. We fought him. We fought him for six years....and on behalf of my 41,000 co-workers, I'm so glad that he won."
On hand for the dedication at Houston's Bush Intercontinental Airport were members of Green's family, including his daughter Monica, a historian at Arizona State University, who praised the idea of making a "living exhibit" of the airliner named for her father.
To further honor Capt. Green, Continental is flying a group of 140 Houston area school children to the National Air and Space Museum next week—aboard the Capt. Marlon Green.