Léopoldine Doualla-Bell Smith Takes Flight in the Midst of History
World’s First Black Flight Attendant Flew on Flights of Airlines Certified as Members of the International Air Transport Association By Angelia D. McGowan
She chose to fly.
Léopoldine Emma Doualla-Bell Smith was born in Cameroon which was the part of a German territory acquired by France after the allied victors of World War I divided the German colony known as Kamerun in Central Africa. A princess of the prominent Douala family, she was offered after-school employment in her home town as a ground hostess by the Union Aéromaritime de Transport (UAT) Airline that served France’s African routes along with Air France for two years. Having graduated from high school in 1956 at the age of 17 years, Doualla-Bell Smith was recruited and sent to Paris for ground hostess training by Air France, and then moved to UAT for flight training In 1957 she began flying as a stewardess with UAT which later merged to became part of Union de Transports Aeriens (UTA). In 1960 she was invited to move to the airline created to serve 11 newly independent Frenchspeaking nations, Air Afrique. As the only available qualified African in French aviation, she was the first employee hired by the airline company, symbolically issued Air Afrique’s employment identification Card No. 001, and soon promoted to be Air Afrique’s first cabin chief. LeRoy Smith, a Denver native and her husband of 36 years, affectionately calls her “Double Oh One.” She made history, but at the time she did not know she was doing so as the first Black person to serve as a flight attendant for any airline. The Black Flight Attendants of America, Inc will recognize her on March 14 in Los Angeles. The first Black flight attendant in the U.S. is Ruth Carol Taylor, who took her initial flight in 1958. During Doualla-Bell Smith’s time as a flight attendant she traveled to many places throughout Africa and to places such as Australia. Today, to be a flight attendant is still a coveted role that attracts many young people wanting to travel the world and make a living.
Léopoldine Doualla-Bell Smith (right) participating in a ribbon-cutting ceremony as UAT took possession of its first DC8 at Le Bourget Airport in Paris, 1961.
Photos courtesy of the Smith Collection
It was and is not without pitfalls stemming from the common perception in those days that flight attendants must look a certain way, be single and available to the sexual desires of passengers and crew members. Doualla-Bell Smith took the role, but it was not her first choice for careers. She wanted to be a veterinarian, but her father and uncle informed her that the choice would not be appropriate for a woman. It would be a good political move for someone from her family to work with a French airline to continue building positive relationships with France. If she had not taken the role with the airlines, her career options would have been limited to being a teacher, a nurse and/or a wife. Because of the color of her skin, white passengers often treated her like an outcast. “People were impolite,” says Doualla-Bell Smith, who was often reprimanded when she tried to help passengers, who were often presidents and ministers, with their luggage. They told me, ‘Don’t touch this!’ The 5’2” pioneer stayed on assignment with a smile and said in French, “I just want to help you.” While it did impact her, she knew that she was not the only one enduring this treatment in the pre-independence period of her country. Her uncle, who was a respected physician often called upon by the large colonial companies in Douala, worked out of his home. He had one wing of the home reserved for Black patients and the other side reserved for white
patients. He often encountered white patients who said, “Don’t touch me!” He withstood trying times and was the one who initially recommended her for a career in the airlines. She took negative statements and actions with a grain of salt, even treatments that would equate to sexual harassment today. But at one point, she’d had enough and slapped a white man. He had touched her breast. The thought of losing her job was far behind her right to defend herself. Understanding and fighting for her rights is ingrained in her blood. Her grandfather, Rudolf Douala Manga Bell, was king of the Douala people and a resistance leader in the German Colony of Kamerun. For his actions to
retain the lands of his tribe, he was hanged for high treason in 1914 and became a martyr in the eyes of Cameroonians. After she was questioned by her employer about her actions, she explained the situation and kept her job. She does say this degrading treatment of women “was everywhere. It was rampant.” Both white and Black passengers held expectations that flight attendants slept with everyone. For some of the women, it was really difficult to say no because of the pressure and because they were desperate for the basic things in life, like food. Doualla-Bell Smith says they were paid very little, so it was easily possible for them to be swept off their feet or forced into relationships by executives, whether they were passengers or crew members. In fact, she was not the only Black woman in her initial training class. There were two others, but they couldn’t stay on because they became pregnant. Fortunately, she had family with whom she lived or communicated daily. They helped to chaperone and protect her. As a first, she had a front-row seat to how Black people lived around the world. Although, she had some positive relationships with her co-workers, the racial barriers became very pronounced when they stepped off theplane in other countries. Continued on page 6
Léopoldine Doualla-Bell Smith being interviewed by a Jeune Afrique journalist on board a Caravelle demonstration sales flight from Paris to Algiers, Casablanca and Tunis in 1960.
Denver Urban Spectrum — www.denverurbanspectrum.com – March 2015
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Léopoldine Doualla-Bell Smith with Caravelle CEO.