On March 8 at 2 p.m., author Sherri L. Smith with presented at the Museum of Flight in Seattle, Washington, telling the story of a group of determined Black Americans who created an airfield and flight school on Chicago’s southside during the 1930s. Based upon her book for teens and young adults, American Wings: Chicago’s Pioneering Aviators and the Race for Equality in the Sky, Smith’s presentation reflects upon how a couple mechanics, a nurse, and a teacher with a passion for aviation established a school to train new pilots, teaching both Black and white students together during a time when the U.S. military was still segregated, and proving that successful integration was possible. Smith will also read from her children’s book, Who Were the Tuskegee Airmen? during a half-hour storytime program for kids at 11 a.m. Both programs are free for Museum Members and included with Museum admission.
Author Sherri L. Smith
Sherri L. Smith is the author award-winning fiction and nonfiction books for young people including the 2021 Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators Golden Kite Award winner The Blossom and the Firefly, and the California Book Awards Gold Medalist, Flygirl. Her novels appear on multiple state reading lists and have been named Amelia Bloomer, Junior Library Guild, Children’s Book Council, and American Library Association Best Books for Young People selections. She also writes comics, including Wonder Woman, Bart Simpson Comics, and James Cameron’s Avatar. Sherri holds certificates in the Art of Archetypal Fairy Tale Analysis, Enchantivism, and Applied Mythology. She currently teaches at Hamline University. Her new books are the nonfiction American Wings: Chicago’s Pioneering Aviators and the Race for Equality in the Sky (Putnam) with Elizabeth Wein, and the graphic novel Pearl (Graphix/Scholastic), with art by Christine Norrie. Learn more at www.sherrilsmith.com.
