CHICAGO — Growing up as an Air Force kid, Casey Grant felt destined to spend her life traveling the world.
But even after completing training to be a flight attendant, she wasn't sure her dream would ever become a reality, she said.
"They weren't hiring blacks. It was a dream, but I didn't think I'd be able to really be a stewardess" at the time, said Grant, who would become one of the first African Americans in the field when she was hired in 1971 by Delta Airlines.
In her book "Stars in the Sky," Grant recalls not just her own journey, but the "history of the trials and tribulations" of her fellow pioneers in aviation, including the story of Patricia Murphy, who won a discrimination case to become the first African-American flight attendant in 1956.
"Delta didn't hire her until 1966," said Grant, who hosts a podcast that highlights African-American advancements in aviation, "The Fly Girl Show."
Months would pass before the airlines hired another African-American, she said.
Writing the book "brought back so many old personal stories," she said.
"The flight crews wouldn't speak to me. They would call us the n-word, deny us from working in first class, put us off the plane. Passengers wouldn't talk to you. You'd ask if they wanted a drink and they would just turn their head," she said.
Interviewing fellow pioneers "brought back tears, because I had forgotten these things had happened," she said.
Some of those early flight attendants she talked to had also buried the painful memories.
"We didn't even tell our parents or friends some of these degrading stories," Grant said.
Casey Grant, of the Gold Coast, outside a Delta airplane. [Courtesy of Casey Grant]
The first flight
Grant, who now lives in the Gold Coast, decided she wanted to be a flight attendant when she was about 18, but wouldn't get her chance until about four years later when she was working at the University of Illinois.
"My boss had a friend that worked for Delta, and she told him about me. She set up an interview for me, and he hired me on the spot," Grant said.
In 1971, she took the job and moved to Miami, but it was far from an easy road from there.
Casey's first flight was a "catastrophe." The flight crew wouldn't speak to her, and when she made a mistake, such as spilling coffee on a woman in a white suit, they refused to help.
She was forced to fend for herself, but she did find she had some allies.
"Two private pilots got up and helped me," she said, adding the woman "in spite of her being angry and not talking to me, handled it quite well. She knew I was young and inexperienced."
The hardships didn't end in the air. Another story in the book describes how a black flight attendant was forced to sleep in the lobby of a hotel when the white flight attendant she was paired with wouldn't let her into the room.
Despite the airlines booking and paying for hotel rooms in advance, Eugene Harmond, who was Delta's first black male flight attendant when he was hired in 1973, was often told the hotels didn't have any rooms.
Once, "he drove around New York all night looking for a room," she said.
They also had to factor in extra time in case cab drivers didn't want to pick them up. Grant would stand under the lights at night so the cab drivers could see her face. Then she'd wait for "the nod" to know the driver accepted black fares, she said.
"These are the kind of things we had suppressed, but we wanted these jobs, and we weren't going to let anyone deny us," Grant said. "Delta never knew. We handled [the problems] on our own. It was a sign of the times. We were all fighting for equal rights. It wasn't just stewardesses."
Staying grounded
Grant and her co-workers were able to fight through the hardships and have long careers by bonding together. They would share information about which hotels would give them problems so they could be prepared.
"We encouraged each other. We were each others' support. We also knew if we made it, we would open doors for others," she said.
The career allowed her to meet presidents, graduate from the Harrington College of Design, open her own design business, ECG Design Interiors, and she still travels the world for free.
Some of her friends got caught up in the fast life of constantly traveling and didn't make it, she said.
"Two of my friends were murdered. They both died under terrible circumstances," she said.
Producers have approached her about a film, which would delve into the murders, she said.
Despite the challenges, she never thought of quitting, she said. She flew for 35 years.
"The job was fabulous, and we weren't going to let discrimination deter us. We had to prove a point. I think it was all about self-pride," Grant said. "I enjoyed every year of it. I still think it's the best career you can choose. It opens up your mind. It's an education you can't find in a book."
"Stars in the Sky" is available on Amazon, Barnes & Noble and Wasteland Press.
Casey Grant with President Jimmy Carter and first lady Rosalynn Carter. [Courtesy of Casey Grant]
