At a time when diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) initiatives are being relentlessly attacked and dismantled, one group is taking a stand—not with protests, but with purpose.
The Organization of Black Aerospace Professionals (OBAP) is doing what real leadership requires: creating solutions. Their response to the anti-DEI backlash—ensuring that Black people who love aviation feel comfortable and confident by launching a flight school.
Located just outside Memphis, Tennessee, the Luke Weathers Flight Academy (LWFA), founded by OBAP, has emerged as a critical launchpad for Black aviators. Offering comprehensive aerospace training ranging from FAR 141 and 61 flight programs to jet transition, UAV pilot certifications, maintenance, and air traffic control academies, the school is not just teaching students how to fly planes—it’s preparing them to soar in an industry desperate for new talent.
According to the FAA, while the aviation industry is facing a nationwide pilot shortage, only 4.6% of professional pilots are Black. That disparity doesn’t reflect a lack of talent, it reflects a system that has historically lacked access. CNN reports that since opening its doors six years ago, the LWFA has helped students earn over 170 pilot certifications. Today, 63 students are enrolled—each one defying the odds in a workforce that’s still overwhelmingly white and male.
While the current administration continues to spread blatantant lies about the quality and competency of pilots hired under DEI programs, the truth is that professionals trained under DEI-focused programs like this one consistently outperform their counterparts in success rate and retention. According to OBAP internal data, students from these programs complete training at a 20% higher rate than average aviation programs nationwide. That’s not just representation—that’s results and it matters.
DEI isn’t about lowering standards; it’s about raising the bar by ensuring everyone has the tools and support to meet and exceed those standards. When you expand opportunity, you expand excellence; that’s how America became a global superpower in the first place — not by dividing but by uniting and bringing together people from all backgrounds to work, build, and innovate.
What OBAP is doing is bigger than aviation; it’s a blueprint for what happens when we invest in people over politics. While the current administration is working overtime to roll back progress and rewrite what opportunity looks like in this country, this flight school is proof that the American Dream doesn’t just belong to some; it belongs to all.
SEE ALSO:
The Great White Heist: Trump’s Plan to Bankrupt America
Honoring Dr. King’s Legacy in a Time of Continued Resistance