Originally Posted by GUWonder

In the late 1940s and early 1950s and most certainly 1960s, African-Americans flew across the Atlantic, including some who were in the entertainment industry. Also, some Africans -- not many, but some -- did fly from Africa and/or Europe to the US on their own money. Some "black" people flying across were part of the ruling elite in Africa who were either playing nicely with the European colonials or who were trying to raise money for building up independence efforts and rebellions in Africa.

As I said earlier, money talks; for where racism could have raised its ugly head again -- including more broadly in the aviation sector -- money came to the rescue and interceded.

(And air travel was not always fun or glamorous back then either, contrary to popular presentation. A bunch of short-hops in uncomfortable seats was worse than a sleeper bed in a train in second class.)