United Commemorates Juneteenth With All-Black Crew

It was an emotional and historic flight.

From takeoff to landing and likely beyond.

United Airlines commissioned an all-black crew to fly from Houston to Chicago on Saturday to commemorate Juneteenth, a first in commercial aviation history.

Juneteenth, an unofficial holiday in the black community until President Joe Biden declared it a federal holiday on Friday starting next year, is the annual June 19 celebration to commemorate the emancipation of enslaved people in the U.S.

From check-in to baggage to the pilot to the flight attendants, the all-black crew made for an overwhelming few hours.

“Years ago, I was not able to fly in the capacity as a pilot,” United pilot Deon Byrne said. “This is just amazing to represent a section of our culture.”

The all-black crew left Bush Intercontinental Airport Saturday morning and arrived in Chicago that afternoon to a celebration of the crew that included the firing of water cannons on the tarmac, and it even attracted a visit from Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner.

Turner said the amount of change black people have experienced in the last 150 years is symbolic.

“Now, we’re soaring amongst the stars,” Turner explained. “Let me tell you, for our ancestors, my parents, if they were still alive, they would just be amazed.”

“This was not obtainable a few years ago,” Byrne said. “This is just amazing.”