Ed Forsythe oral history interview, May 17, 2017

Item — othertype: Oral History

Identifier: ForsytheE_L2017-23

Staff Only

Ed Forsythe oral history

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Scope and Contents

Interviewed by Traci Drummond. In this interview, Ed Forsythe focuses on his youth for a great portion of the interview. He discusses moving back and forth between his grandparents in New York and California as a child. He discusses both locations, his education in both areas, and race issues in both areas. Forsythe discusses his Air Force training, radar operational training, flight training, and air traffic control training. Throughout the interview, he discusses the various ways in which his racial identity have affected his life.

Dates

Creation: May 17, 2017

Creator

Forsythe, Edward W., 1929- (Interviewee, Person)

Restrictions on Access

Oral history available for research.

Biographical Note

Ed Forsythe was born in 1929 in Los Angeles. For his entire youth he moved back and forth between New York and California. He was a model airplane aficionado. Forsythe served in the Air Force and attended radiator operating school in Mississippi. He was trained by the Air Force in Texas and sent to Lackland Air Force Base for pre-flight training. Forsythe was trained as an air traffic controller at the FAA Academy in Oklahoma City. He worked for the New York Center and Washington D.C. headquarters as an air traffic controller until his retirement in 1988.