Two Mechanics Built America's First Black Airport In 1931, Cornelius Coffey and John Robinson—two Black auto mechanics denied admission to flight schools—built their own airplane using a motorcycle engine, sued for the right to attend aviation school, graduated in under a year, then created America's first Black-owned airport in Robbins, Illinois. Volunteers cleared land with bare hands and built a hangar from scrap lumber at 14046 S. Lawndale Avenue. They trained Black pilots including Janet Br