Finally, tonight's heart of America. Meet Captain Teresa Claiborne from
Emporia,
VA. She is retiring after completing her final flight today
from Lisbon,
Portugal to Newark, NJ, marking 34 years at United Airlines
with a full water cannon salute.
Claiborne was the first black woman pilot in the US
Air Force and was commissioned as a second Lieutenant in
1981.
But her career of service didn't end there.
She's also the president of Sisters of the Skies,
a non profit that mentors young women of color looking
to become pilots.
Captain Claiborne had this advice for future pilots.
Number one, you have to know how to do your
job.
And that's what I tell people.
Don't look for any handouts.
Just go in there and do it.
You know, you, you work,
work, work, work, work, work,
work, work. And then at the end of the rainbow,
there's.
A lot of color.
Well, congratulations to Captain Theresa Claiborne.
She is tonight's heart of America.