OREANDA-NEWS. To cap a series of celebrations for Black History Month, United Airlines this morning hosted one of the original Tuskegee Airmen, O. Lawton Wilkerson, at a packed event at the airline's headquarters at Willis Tower in downtown Chicago. Mr. Wilkerson joined fellow members of the Chicago Chapter of the Tuskegee Airman and several other guests for a celebration of African American involvement in aviation throughout history.

"At United, we support the rich diversity of ideas, experiences and cultures of our employees, customers and business partners," said Greg Jones, United's managing director of Diversity and Inclusion. "Diversity is a value that binds and inspires us to continuously improve who we are as a company."

Today's event was just one of several that United hosted for customers and employees throughout the month of February commemorating important figures, milestones and traditions in the African American community. A few of the celebration events included:
* The airline's first of several hub events in early February was focused around music, themed, "The Celebration of Our Heritage in Music." Employees at United's Houston hub listened to Cheryl Cohen sing what is often referred to as the Black National Anthem, "Lift Every Voice"; watched the Prairie View A&M University Dancers perform; and listened to former pastor of Wheeler Baptist Church William Lawson talk about significant events in history.
* On February 18, civil rights activist, author and radio host Dorothy Wright Tillman visited employees at United's reservations center in Chicago to talk to them about growing up in Montgomery, Alabama, working closely with Martin Luther King, Jr., and joining the civil rights movement as a young teen.
* On Tuesday, United's San Francisco hub hosted more than 300 employees and customers for an event featuring traditional soul food, games, authentic African drumming and musical performances by United employees. United Captain James Simmons spoke to the audience about his career as an African American chief pilot for the airline while the Museum of the African Diaspora in San Francisco hosted an informational table.