Dale L. White, Sr., Papers - Scrapbook

About the Project

Dale L. White, Sr., (1899-1977) was a prominent African-American pilot, who, along with Chauncey Spencer, flew a 1939 "Goodwill Flight" from Chicago, Illinois, to Washington, DC, to lobby for African-Americans to be able to join the US Army Air Corps. Born in Minden, Louisiana, White moved to Chicago, Illinois, in 1930. In 1932, he started to attend the Curtiss-Wright Aeronautical University. On August 18, 1933, White began his flight training and he received his license in June 1936. For the next decade, White was very active in Chicago African-American flying circles and was a member of the Challenger Air Pilots Association (CAPA), a group organized by Chicago-area African-American aviation enthusiasts. In the spring of 1939, the CAPA decided to organize a "Goodwill Flight" to Washington, DC, to lobby for a change in legislation so the African-Americans could join the US Army Air Corps. Dale White was chosen to be the pilot and Chauncey Spencer was selected as the navigator for this flight. With a CAPA-secured rental of a Lincoln (Aircraft) Page LP-3 (New Swallow) biplane, White and Spencer left Chicago on May 8, 1939, for their 3000 mile round-trip. During their time in Washington, DC, White and Spencer had a scheduled meeting with Senators Slatttery and Everett Dirksen and chance meeting with then Senator Harry S. Truman, who in 1948 integrated the armed services by presidential order. After returning from their successful trip, White was chosen to drop a wreath on the grave of aviator Bessie Coleman, located in Lincoln Cemetery, Chicago, on a May day designated, "The Spirit of the late Bessie Coleman." In August of 1939, the CAPA broadened its scope and was incorporated as the National Negro Airman's Association of America (NAAA), and White was elected to be vice president. During the rest of 1939, White made numerous flights in and around Chicago. In 1940, White became an aircraft mechanic at Wright Patterson Field in Dayton, Ohio. White did not join the Tuskegee Airman as he was too old to apply, but he did continue to fly until June 1941, when he quit flying at the request of his wife. He retired from Wright Patterson in 1971 and died in 1977. Note: Please do not describe the images, photographs, or maps that appear in this project. We are only seeking transcriptions.

This collection consists of material relating to the aviation career of Dale L. White, Sr., including his attendance at the Curtiss Wright Aeronautical University and his piloting of a 1939 "Goodwill Flight" from Chicago, Illinois, to Washington, DC, to lobby for African-Americans to be able to join the US Army Air Corps. The collection also contains information on other important African-American aviators, including: Chauncey Spencer, White's navigator for the "Goodwill Flight;" Willa Brown; and John Charles Robinson, "The Brown Condor of Ethiopia."

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Completed!

Project Progress (details)

39 pages completed

Difficulty

3 out of 5

(details)

About Project Difficulty

Level 1 - BEGINNER

Content: all typed
Language: English
Format: letters, diaries, flyers, pamphlets, and one-page documents
Subject Area Expertise/Special Skills: none required

Level 2

Content: mostly typed, handwritten in print, or otherwise very clearly written/readable
Language: English
Format: memorabilia, advertisements, image captions, telegrams, diaries, letters, notes
Subject Area Expertise/Special Skills: none required

Level 3 - INTERMEDIATE

Content: typed and handwritten materials in cursive or print
Language: English
Format: newspaper clippings, scrapbooks, letters/diaries/notes that may include annotations or margin notes
Subject Area Expertise/Special Skills: experience reading cursive writing may be useful

Level 4

Content: handwritten materials, primarily in cursive or somewhat difficult to read (predominantly from the 19th and 20th centuries) , audio recordings that are relatively easy to hear/decipher, and scientific materials
Language: English and/or other languages that use Roman script but may require the use of diacritics (French, Spanish, German, Italian, etc.)
Format: audio recordings, letters, diaries, notes and other written materials, projects with templated fields and special instructions
Subject Area Expertise/Special Skills: some knowledge of non-English Roman-character/script languages and diacritics may be useful, as well as experience reading cursive handwriting. A general knowledge or familiarity with scientific terminology.

Level 5 - ADVANCED

Content: handwritten materials in cursive (from the 19th century or earlier) or in a non-Roman script language, audio recordings that are difficult to hear or are not in English, specialty materials/projects such as numismatics projects and the Project Phaedra notebooks
Language: foreign languages that use non-Roman characters (Chinese, Japanese, Arabic, Greek/Cyrillic, Native American and Indigenous languages, etc.) and English
Format: audio recordings, columned data/tables, manuscripts, letters, diaries, notes, currency sheets, coins
Subject Area Expertise/Special Skills: knowledge of a specific language and access to a keyboard with the characters in that language may be required for certain projects. Experience reading cursive handwriting and familiarity with 19th century (or prior) handwriting and conventions/abbreviations may be useful, as well as knowledge of scientific terminology, astrophysics data, or linguistics.

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