Captain Marlon Green
(June 6, 1929 – July 6, 2009)
He was an American pilot whose landmark United States Supreme Court decision in 1963 helped dismantle racial discrimination in the American passenger airline industry. The decision led to David E. Harris’s hiring as the first African-American pilot for a major airline the following year. Green was subsequently hired by Continental Airlines, for whom he flew from 1965 to 1978.
Marlon Green tore down racial barriers, paving the way for every other African American who has worked as a pilot for a major airline. On leaving the Air Force, Marlon Green applied to at least ten U.S. airlines for a pilot’s position. He was turned down by all until finally leaving blank the box marked “racial identity” and deliberately failing to send along the two requested photographs.
This time, he was scheduled to show up for flight tests. Although he was acknowledged to be highly qualified, once again, he was not hired. Green filed a complaint under a Colorado anti-discrimination law that was ruled in his favor. The decision was challenged by the airline and ultimately made it to the U.S. Supreme Court, which in April 1963 issued a unanimous ruling in his favor, clearing the way to a pilot position with a major U.S. airline. His seniority with the airline was dated 1957, giving him seniority beginning the year he would have been hired originally. He was promoted to captain in 1966 and retired from the airline in 1978. The Organization of Black Airline Pilots honored him with their Lifetime Achievement Award in 2003.
Green died aged 80 in Denver, Colorado.
On February 16, 2010, at George Bush Intercontinental Airport in Houston, Texas, Continental Airlines named a Boeing 737-824 (N77518, cn 31605) after him.
During his lifetime, Green was inducted into the Arkansas Aviation Hall of Fame