A Photo Maker’s Journey to Defying Gravity

A Force Proportional to Their Masses

MR: A bit of history…

The Wright Brothers' maiden flight took place in 1903 and changed the world. It inspired countless would-be aviators around the globe to pursue the otherworldly act of flying. From the beginning, there were African Americans who not only dreamed of flying, but achieve the seemingly impossible by piloting early aircraft. The main theme of a force proportional to their masses will be gravity, and its well-known formula. The concept of defying gravity will be the literal and figurative symbol of the difficulties and societal pressures that the early aviators had to overcome to achieve flight.

Gravity is defined as a natural phenomenon by which physical bodies attract with a force proportional to their masses. This basic law was discovered by Newton in 1687. To understand it is to understand flight. Gravity must be manipulated to achieve flight. In that same frame of reference, there were great forces proportional to the very existence of simply being African American. Flight and the manipulation of gravity and a force proportional to their masses.

At Fulton County Aviation Center, we'll speak to the struggles that were endured by these pioneers in the field of aviation.