Entertainment

Pilots Speak at Performing Stars’ ‘Red Tails’ Showing

Published

7 years ago

February 27, 2020

Nine pilots and two animators spoke at the Feb. 17 Performing Stars’ “Red Tails” showing at the Letterman Digital Arts Center in San Francisco.

They shared how aviation became a positive career choice for them to about 100 youths attending the event. They were also examples of how aviation can become a viable career choice for Black people and women of color.

Marin County resident Jordan Calhoun flew his first solo in an airplane at 16-years-old. He later graduated from University of Southern California with a bachelor’s degree in International Relations and Marketing, and now works as an assistant vice president in marketing for Jackson Square Aviation, which leases commercial aircrafts.

Courtland Savage, a North Carolina native, currently flies for United Express. Savage served for the Air Force Reserves as a crew chief on the Boeing C-17 Globe Master III., while attending Embry Riddle Aeronautical University in Florida. Savage founded Fly for the Culture, a non-profit organization that helps increase diversity within the aviation industry, and exposes disadvantaged and minority youth to aviation as a career option.

Colin Henry grew up in Mill Valley, graduated from the College of Marin, and currently flies a Gulfstream G650 jet for Nike. He is a flight instructor and air tour pilot, and a member of the Organization of Black Aerospace Professionals.

Mikosha Phoenix is an air traffic controller in Bismarck, N.D., and the public affairs chairperson of the National Black Coalition of Federal Aviation Employees. Phoenix was born and raised outside of Houston, TX and graduated from the University of Texas at Tyler with a degree in Journalism.

Tarah Ernest, first officer and Pilot Talent Acquisitions personnel for Republic Airways, is responsible for the safe operation of Republic’s aircrafts. Ernest, as a Haitian-American female pilot, understands the obstacles that confront minorities pursuing careers in aviation. She mentors those aspiring to be pilots and is involved with the Sisters of the Skies and Women in Aviation.

Capt. Tara Wright, from Oakland, is the first female African American pilot for U.S. Airways, and in 2017, became a captain for Alaska Airlines. She also owns and operates an air charter company. Wright says that aviation is a viable career option for women of color, and said “It is important to demonstrate that there are people like me who do this job.”

Lt. Col. Jason Harris, who grew up in East Oakland, has lead an accomplished military career and became a decorated Air Force pilot, and a motivational speaker, consultant and certified character coach who values dedication, service and excellence. Harris also recognizes the value of empowerment and an environment of trust where talented people can grow and flourish.

Capt. Ray Burkett of American Airlines studied Aeronautical Science at Embry–Riddle Aeronautical University. Burkett grew up in Detroit, MI, and had no mentors, but still loves his choice of becoming a pilot.

Col. Yvonne Darlene Cagle, from Novato, received her doctor of medicine degree from the University of Washington in 1985, and retired from the United States Air Force in 2008. She is a member of NASA’s Astronaut Class of 1996, and currently works as a consultant for space telemedicine at the Johnson Space Center, studying the health of astronauts.

Cagle never flew on a space mission, and in 2018 was considered a “NASA Management Astronaut” in the Ames Research Center in California, which means that she is employed at NASA but is no longer eligible for spaceflight assignments.

Writer Greg Burnham, and artist Marcus Williams are the co-creators of the “Tuskegee Heirs,” a comic series about five young pilots living in a futuristic world where humans are banned from becoming pilots. They become trained to defeat the self-aware war machines fixated to destroy civilization and are “thrust into the middle of a war for humanities’ right to exist.”

Godfrey Lee

Posts by Godfrey Lee

Up Next

For Homeless Housing, Gov. Makes 286 State Properties Available for Free

Don't Miss

Caught In The Gap: Californians Facing Evictions Still Waiting on Aid State Promised

Godfrey Lee

Click to comment

Activism

Oakland Post: Week of September 30 – October 6, 2026

The printed Weekly Edition of the Oakland Post: Week of September 30 – October 6, 2026

Published

3 days ago

October 4, 2026

Oakland Post

To enlarge your view of this issue, use the slider, magnifying glass icon or full page icon in the lower right corner of the browser window.

Oakland Post

Posts by Oakland Post

Business

From Historic Memories to New Possibilities: Oakland Celebrates Coliseum 60

More than 75 people gathered at Youth UpRising in East Oakland on Friday, September 18, for Coliseum 60, an event marking six decades of sports, entertainment, employment, and community memories at the Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum Complex. Held 60 years to the day after the Coliseum first opened, the celebration featured cultural performances and a mini-documentary highlighting its history. Speakers reflected on the venue’s significant role in the community and its future possibilities. Read more to learn about the individuals and stories honored during this special event.

Published

1 week ago

September 27, 2026

Post News Group

Quixote Atkins of VillageGIVE moderates a panel discussion at the Coliseum 60 celebration at Youth UpRising featuring Keith Brown, a member of IATSE Local 107; author, historian and former Black Panther Party member Tareka Lewis; and African American Sports and Entertainment Group President Ray Bobbitt.

By Carla Thomas

More than 75 people gathered at Youth UpRising in East Oakland on Friday, Sept. 18, for Coliseum 60, a celebration honoring six decades of sports, entertainment, employment and community memories connected to the Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum Complex.

Held 60 years to the day after the Coliseum opened, the event carried the theme, “One Community. One Legacy. One Future. Forward Together.”

The celebration opened with the national anthem performed by sisters Anese Jade, Amina Benjamin and Zaza Benjamin. Diamano Coura West African Dance Company contributed African dance and drumming, bringing movement, rhythm and cultural expression to the program.

A mini documentary highlighted the Coliseum’s sports history and its broader role as an entertainment destination. Archival material recalled performances by Prince and Tina Turner, along with memorable games featuring the Warriors, Oakland A’s and Raiders.

“The Coliseum 60 is about much more than celebrating a building or looking back at 60 years of history,” said event organizer Quixote Atkins of VillageGIVE.

“It’s about the people who made that history possible: the families, workers, athletes, artists, community leaders, fans and generations who gathered there and created memories together.”

A panel exploring that history featured author, historian and former Black Panther Party member Tareka Lewis; stagehand and union representative Keith Brown; and Ray Bobbitt, president of the African American Sports and Entertainment Group AASEG. Lewis described her family as fourth-generation Bay Area pioneers.

“My family and Black families who arrived even earlier helped build the Bay Area, grew businesses and established culture here,” Lewis said. “This should be taught in the public schools.”

Lewis recalled Oakland’s influence on sports, music and literature, from the Raiders’ beginnings at Laney College to stars such as The Pointer Sisters and Rickey Henderson who attended Oakland public schools. She also advocated for school museums, historical timelines, entrepreneurship training and investments benefiting corridors such as Bancroft Avenue and High Street.

Keith Brown, a member of Local 107 of the International Alliance of Theater and Stage Employees (IATSE) who began working at the Coliseum in 2011, remembered the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus, the Ice Capades, baseball bat giveaways and Nelson Mandela’s 1990 appearance.

“The special events are amazing, but it’s the workers that make the memories real for everyone,” Brown said. “They make the magic happen at the Coliseum.”

The program recognized longtime workers, including beer-stand manager Robert Preston, who served for 40 years, and Kenyatta Gentry, who worked as a vendor for 24 years and used her earnings to purchase her first apartment. Union workers Jose Gonzales and Carmen Sandoval were also honored. Speakers emphasized that Coliseum employment provided generations of residents with union wages and benefits.

Dr. Denise Saddler, the superintendent of the Oakland Unified School District (OUSD) was also honored. Saddler shared her family’s history of working at the Coliseum.

District 7 Oakland City Councilmember Ken Houston discussed the complex ownership arrangements involving the city, county and private interests.

“This was the most complex deal of its kind in the country,” Houston said.

Prior to moving from the East Coast, Alameda County Supervisor and Coliseum Joint Powers Authority Chair Nate Miley recalled learning about Oakland through its three professional sports teams. As an elected official and public servant, Miley fought hard to keep the Golden State Warriors, Oakland As, and the Raiders, but he is hopeful for the future.

“The story is not over for the Coliseum,” Miley said. “We’re entering a new chapter.”

Bobbitt said the departure of three teams had once seemed unimaginable, but he maintained that Oakland’s future remains bright.

“Oakland is a cultural superpower worldwide,” Bobbitt said. “We’re going to write the future where we participate and drive the redevelopment.”

Bobbitt highlighted AASEG’s four-year partnership with Castlemont High School’s architecture program, which engages students in reimagining and creating redevelopment concepts for the Coliseum property. “The youth will always move us forward. They are the future.”

In closing, Atkins said, “September 18 is the celebration, but what we build together afterward is the legacy.”