Lonnie Bunch

As somebody who has written a lot about early Black aviation, I think that J. Herman Banning was the most important pilot in the era before the Tuskegee Airmen. There is no doubt that his skill as a pilot, his ability to share what he did with the media, inspired many generations.

As I build the National Museum of African American History and Culture, part of my task is to make sure that people who are often left out of history are remembered. One of the most important stories that I want to make sure is in this museum is the story of J. Herman Banning. So he will be in the national museum when it opens its doors in 2015.

— Lonnie Bunch, founding director of the Smithsonian's National Museum of African American History and Culture