That's a good question, and a shame that it still is asked in this day and age. Unlike what my avatar implies, I'm African-American as well, and I had concerns about my chances of making it to the airlines as well. As it was said in a previous post, work hard, and you'll get there.
However, let me outline what SOME(not ALL) people who are not of color are thinking.....I had attended Spartan School of Aeronautics in the late 90's, and as I was conversing with another student who was also African-American, he told me that his ground school instructor told the class that they had to "work hard, because ahead of YOU guys and minorities and women". Oh, it get's better, on a different day this same instructor says, "you know, black women would make the best pilots, because they have to overcome so much. When they're growing up, they are being physically, emotionally, and verbally abused." Well, if a certain number of black women in this country live in black neighborhoods and usually are raised by black parents...the WHO THE HELL IS IT THAT ABUSES THEM! (in case you don't get it, the implication is......TADAAAAA....us BLACK MEN!!). I was appalled to say the least, since the newer students usually saw instructors as "know all, see all" gods of aviation.
Also, my ex-employer, when I had lunch with him at the beginning of my employment with his company told me that he knew of an airline pilot that was pissed that blacks and women were "stealing" the flying jobs. My ex-employer then pointed out to him that it was impossible for a small percentage of a people who were already a minority could "steal" jobs. My question to that gentleman would have been how he felt back in the "good old days", when you saw really NO black or female airline pilots (keeping in mind, if you were black AND a woman, you were screwed over TWICE!)....would he have spoken against the hiring practices, or just continued to keep quiet while one qualified black pilot after another got rejected (a 1978 issue of Ebony magazine detailed this, but I don't remember which month it was for).
I was also told by my ex-employer that the airlines, at least a certain number of years ago, practiced non-hiring of black pilots because "they were afraid of losing money". In other words, the passengers would supposedly freak if they saw someone black going into the cockpit.
By the way, after WWII, when some of the Tuskeegee Airmen tried to gain airline employment, not ONE of them was hired. In fact, in an interview on the History Channel, one of the gentlemen recounted that he tried to get on with Pan Am (at the old Pan Am building in Manhattan, now MetLife), he saw the secretary ripping up his application and throwing it in the garbage when he went back in there to retrieve his newspaper. When he confronted her about what she thought she was doing, she said..."well, I'm sorry sir, but we don't hire coloreds here." Hmmmm, a war hero can't get an airline job, go figure. Anyway, that was then, the chances are better now.
However, DON'T be deceived, no amount of affirmative action can legislate against the level of bitterness, hatred, or fear that someone holds in his/her heart against someone of a different race or gender. It only provides protection against the ACTIONS that some people would try to take against us. This ran long, but I wanted to be thorough.;-)
Just remember though that there is a way to remember the history without letting it make you bitter (not to say that you are by the way), for it is said that if we don't know the past, we're dommed to repeat it. Work hard, work smart, keep your head up...and no matter how long it takes, you WILL succeed!
The first black airline pilot in the United States, Mr Marlon Green, wasn't hired till 1965. And even then, he had to take it all the way to the supreme court to make it happen. That was only 41 years ago!...just a little history lesson. 
! I'll end that one there. Anyway, as long as we all keep our eyes on the prize (even with all this labor stuff and pension stuff going on), we'll make it...Don't give up, I know I won't:rawk: ! To the victor goes the spoils, and with knowledge, skill, and some grit (a la ChiSox, although I'm a YANKEE fan!) the goal gets met!
