Lieutenant Colonel Alton Yates - USAF (Retired) - Jacksonville, FL
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Lieutenant Colonel Alton Yates served from 1955 until 1996 in the United States Air Force, dedicating 31 years of his life to service to this nation and the state.
Colonel Yates's civilian career path includes the U.S. Postal Service, Executive Director of Greater Jacksonville Economic Organization (GJEO) Inc., Jacksonville's Anti-Poverty Agency, and Administrative Aide to Mayor's Tanzler, Godbold, and Hazouri. He's a former member of St. Vincent's Health System Advisory Board. In every role, Yates raised the banner for veterans’ issues, ensuring a seat that the table was carved out for his military brothers and sisters. During his work with Starbase, a Department of Defense program that immerses at-risk youth in an engaging Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM) environment. Classes were taught at the 125th Fighter Wing, Jacksonville, where nearly 21,000 students have been educated during the 21 years of existence. Alton Yates enlisted in the U.S. Air Force on June 16, 1955, and would become the first African American from Jacksonville to serve as a Volunteer Aerospace Test Subject. His devotion to duty would lead to national and international acclaim while serving in the U.S. Air Force at the Aeromedical Field Laboratory where he rode high-speed Rocket Sleds and participated in numerous Aerospace Research experiments during the initial days of America's Space Program. |
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On his way home to Jacksonville after being released from active duty in 1959, he recounted in a 2010 interview with the Jacksonville Times-Union. He saw Ku Klux Klan billboards in Mississippi showing black people hanging from trees. Businesses would let him buy gas, but wouldn't seat him for a meal or let him use the restroom. To avoid further hateful encounters, he decided to buy peanut butter and jelly and ate sandwiches the whole way home. Because of what he experienced on this faithful road trip and recalling all the skills and experiences he learned while in the Air Force, Yates went on to become vice president of NAACP's Youth Council. He helped organize civil rights demonstrations, and in August 1960, ended up in the middle of a civil rights clash that pitted white men with ax handles and baseball bats against unarmed black youths. Yet, another time Yates risked his life - standing up for humans and how they live on Earth.
Disabled veteran Yates never stopped working for his community and fellow veterans. Appointed to the Florida Education Council by Governor Askew. Yates was also a member of Florida Community College at Jacksonville Foundation. Governor Bob Graham would later appoint Yates to FCCJ's board, chairing the board from 1988 through 1990.
Among his many titles, he has served as the City of Jacksonville's Regulatory and Environmental Services Department and managed the Administration for the Community Economic Development Center at FCCJ. He is also a past President of Leadership Jacksonville and the Northeast Florida Safety Council.
Lieutenant Colonel Alton Yates Video Interview
Education and Training Accomplishments:
1955: High School - Stanton College Prep, Jacksonville, FL
1955: Basic Training - Lackland AFB, San Antonio, Texas
1955: Organizational Supply Specialist Tech School -Francis E. Warren AFB, Wyoming 1973: Bachelors of Sociology - Florida International University, Miami, FL
1973: Master’s in Urban Studies - Occidental University, Los Angeles, CA
1973: Yates was awarded the National Urban Fellowship through Yale University
1982: Department of Defense Equal Opportunity Management Institute, Patrick AFB, FL 1987: Staff Social Actions Officer Training
1988: Social Actions Officer Drag Abuse Training
Professional or Employment History:
Advocacy on Behalf of Veterans:
Colonel Yates’s civilian career path includes the U.S. Postal Service, Executive Director of Greater Jacksonville Economic Organization (GJEO) Inc., Jacksonville’s Anti-Poverty Agency, and Administrative Aide to Mayor’s Tanzler, Godbold, and Hazouri. He’s a former member of St. Vincent’s Health System Advisory Board. In every role, Yates raised the banner for veterans issues, ensuring a seat that the table was carved out for his military brothers and sisters. During his work with Starbase, a Department of Defense program that immerses at-risk youth in an engaging Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM) environment. Classes were taught at the 125th Fighter Wing, Jacksonville, where nearly 21,000 students have been educated dining the 21 years of existence.
Civic Activities and Contributions:
Awards or Honors:
Written Narrative:
Pre- Military:
Alton Yates was bom the second of seven children and a native of Jacksonville, Florida. He attended Stanton High School, received his Bachelor’s degree in Sociology from Florida International University, and his Master's Degree in Urban Studies from Occidental College. Bom into a large and nurturing family, his father instilled in him at a young age the need to excel beyond your life circumstances. The neighborhood he grew up in, La Villa, was like one big family. Everyone knew each other and everyone depended on the other people that lived in the area. Yates knew that he would eventually have to serve in some capacity in the military, his father insisted. Yates was able to take advantage of his father’s principles and later begin to mold them into those of his own. Upon graduating from high school, Yates understood he was going to have to attempt to help take care of the family. Many of the jobs available to him at the time would not pay well, so he decided to join the Air Force.
Military:
Alton Yates enlisted in the U.S. Air Force on June 16, 1955, and would become the first African American from Jacksonville to serve as a Volunteer Aerospace Test Subject. His devotion to duty would lead to national and international acclaim while serving in the U.S. Air Force at the Aeromedical Field Laboratory where he rode high-speed Rocket Sleds and participated in numerous Aerospace Research experiments during the initial days of America's Space Program.
Airman Second Class Yates rode a sled called the "Bopper" a record 65 times. Along with the rocket sled testing, The experiments were designed to pave the way for America's first manned space flights. In 1959, he was featured in both Ebony and Jet Magazines and cited by the U.S. Air Force for risking his life more than 65 times for science.
After leaving the active Air Force in 1959 he would continue his service with the Air Force Reserves. Years later, the Reserve Sergeant engaged in a conversation with the aide for Congressman Bill Chappell that helped enable him to continue his military service. Congressman Chappell along with the Department of Defense was able to ensure Sergeant Yates received a presidential appointment to the rank of Captain with the stipulation that he first had to be accepted into a military unit. He was accepted into the Florida Ah National Guard in St. Augustine, Fl. On September 4, 1980, he was direct-commissioned into the Florida Air National Guard. During his first assignment, he served as the Social Action/Equal Opportunity Officer for the 125th Fighter-Interceptor Group. In April 1986 he was advanced to Chief of Social Actions Officer for the 125th Combat Support Squadron. During his final years in the Florida Air National Guard, Lt. Col. Yates was assigned to the Florida Air National Guard Headquarters where he continued to work in Equal Opportunity and Human Relations. In 1994, he led the Florida Air National Guard’s efforts to establish the STARBASE program in Florida and served as the first president for the support organization’s Board of Directors. He would go on to encourage racial diversity and equality in the military while serving from 1981 to 1996. LTCOL Yates would retire after serving over 31 years.
Axe Handle:
The 23-year-old Yates had survived test rides on a high-speed rocket sled in a program to determine how the human body would travel in space. But he knew he couldn’t live with what he experienced on his 1,700-mile drive from New Mexico Air Force Base back home to Jacksonville.
On his way home to Jacksonville after being released from active duty in 1959, he recounted in a 2010 interview with the Jacksonville Times-Union. He saw Ku Klux Klan billboards in Mississippi showing black people hanging from trees. Businesses would let him buy gas, but wouldn’t seat him for a meal or let him use the restroom. To avoid further hateful encounters, he decided to buy peanut butter and jelly and ate sandwiches the whole way home. Because of what he experienced on this faithful road trip and recalling all the skills and experiences he learned while in the Air Force, Yates went on to become vice president of NAACP’s Youth Council. He helped organize civil rights demonstrations, and in August 1960, ended up in the middle of a civil rights clash that pitted white men with ax handles and baseball bats against unarmed black youths. Yet, another time Yates risked his life - standing up for humans and how they live on Earth.
Post Military:
Disabled veteran Yates never stopped working for his community and fellow veterans. Appointed to the Florida Education Council by Governor Askew. Yates was also a member of Florida Community College at Jacksonville Foundation. Governor Bob Gramham would later appoint Yates to FCCJ’s board, chairing the of the board from 1988 through 1990.
Among his many titles, he has served as the City of Jacksonville’s Regulatory and Environmental Services Department and managed the Administration for the Community Economic Development Center at FCCJ. He is also a past President of Leadership Jacksonville and the Northeast Florida Safety Council.
Disabled veteran Yates never stopped working for his community and fellow veterans. Appointed to the Florida Education Council by Governor Askew. Yates was also a member of Florida Community College at Jacksonville Foundation. Governor Bob Graham would later appoint Yates to FCCJ's board, chairing the board from 1988 through 1990.
Among his many titles, he has served as the City of Jacksonville's Regulatory and Environmental Services Department and managed the Administration for the Community Economic Development Center at FCCJ. He is also a past President of Leadership Jacksonville and the Northeast Florida Safety Council.
Lieutenant Colonel Alton Yates Video Interview
Education and Training Accomplishments:
1955: High School - Stanton College Prep, Jacksonville, FL
1955: Basic Training - Lackland AFB, San Antonio, Texas
1955: Organizational Supply Specialist Tech School -Francis E. Warren AFB, Wyoming 1973: Bachelors of Sociology - Florida International University, Miami, FL
1973: Master’s in Urban Studies - Occidental University, Los Angeles, CA
1973: Yates was awarded the National Urban Fellowship through Yale University
1982: Department of Defense Equal Opportunity Management Institute, Patrick AFB, FL 1987: Staff Social Actions Officer Training
1988: Social Actions Officer Drag Abuse Training
Professional or Employment History:
- Administration for the Community Economic Development Center at FCCJ Administrative Aide to Mayor Godbold
- Administrative Aide to Mayor's Hazouri U.S. Postal Service Administrative Aide to Mayor's Tanzler
- Chief of Social Actions Officer
- Director of the City’s Regulatory and Environmental Services Department
- Executive Director of GJEO Inc.
- Executive Director of the Jacksonville Community Relations Commission Manager of Jacksonville’s Anti-Poverty Agency
- First president of the Board of Directors of STARBASE Florida, Inc
Advocacy on Behalf of Veterans:
Colonel Yates’s civilian career path includes the U.S. Postal Service, Executive Director of Greater Jacksonville Economic Organization (GJEO) Inc., Jacksonville’s Anti-Poverty Agency, and Administrative Aide to Mayor’s Tanzler, Godbold, and Hazouri. He’s a former member of St. Vincent’s Health System Advisory Board. In every role, Yates raised the banner for veterans issues, ensuring a seat that the table was carved out for his military brothers and sisters. During his work with Starbase, a Department of Defense program that immerses at-risk youth in an engaging Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM) environment. Classes were taught at the 125th Fighter Wing, Jacksonville, where nearly 21,000 students have been educated dining the 21 years of existence.
Civic Activities and Contributions:
- 4th Degree Knight of Columbus
- Member and Lecturer of Holy Rosary Catholic Church
- Founding President of STARBASE FLORIDA, INC.
- Chairman of the Board of Trustees of FCCJ from 1988 through 1990
- Corporate Board of the Boy's and Girls Clubs of Northeast Florida
- Corporate Board of Police Athletic League
- Corporate board for The Jacksonville Chapter, National Conference for Community and Justice
- St. Vincent's Health System Advisory Board
- State Board of Community Colleges
- The Catholic Diocesan Housing Association
- The Jacksonville Historical Society
- The Mary Singleton Memorial Foundation
- Shands Hospital, Community Advisory Board
- Life member of Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity
- Past President of Leadership Jacksonville
- Past President of the Northeast Florida Safety Council.
- Graduate of Leadership Florida, Class 14
- Rotary Club of West Jacksonville
- Life Member: Disabled Veterans Association
- Ah Force Association
Awards or Honors:
- The PRO ECCLESIA ET PONTIFICE Medal, by Pope Paul the Sixth.
- The Brotherhood Award, by the National Conference of Christians and Jews.
- The Peace, Justice and Social Harmony Award, by the Mary Singleton Memorial Foundation.
- The Baha’i’ Faith 1st annual Lifetime Achievement Award for Unity in Diversity.
- Meritorious Service Medal
- Air Force Commendation Medal
- Air Force Achievement Medal
- The Florida Cross
- The Distinguished Service Medal
- The Florida Distinguished Service Medal
- The Clanzel T. Brown Award
- The Governor’s Medal of Merit
- Armed Forces Reserve Medal
- Florida Distinguished Service Medal
- Florida Commendation Medal
- Sumter L. Lowry Award
- 2016 One Jax Institute Humanitarian Golden Medallion for Lifetime Achievement Award
Written Narrative:
Pre- Military:
Alton Yates was bom the second of seven children and a native of Jacksonville, Florida. He attended Stanton High School, received his Bachelor’s degree in Sociology from Florida International University, and his Master's Degree in Urban Studies from Occidental College. Bom into a large and nurturing family, his father instilled in him at a young age the need to excel beyond your life circumstances. The neighborhood he grew up in, La Villa, was like one big family. Everyone knew each other and everyone depended on the other people that lived in the area. Yates knew that he would eventually have to serve in some capacity in the military, his father insisted. Yates was able to take advantage of his father’s principles and later begin to mold them into those of his own. Upon graduating from high school, Yates understood he was going to have to attempt to help take care of the family. Many of the jobs available to him at the time would not pay well, so he decided to join the Air Force.
Military:
Alton Yates enlisted in the U.S. Air Force on June 16, 1955, and would become the first African American from Jacksonville to serve as a Volunteer Aerospace Test Subject. His devotion to duty would lead to national and international acclaim while serving in the U.S. Air Force at the Aeromedical Field Laboratory where he rode high-speed Rocket Sleds and participated in numerous Aerospace Research experiments during the initial days of America's Space Program.
Airman Second Class Yates rode a sled called the "Bopper" a record 65 times. Along with the rocket sled testing, The experiments were designed to pave the way for America's first manned space flights. In 1959, he was featured in both Ebony and Jet Magazines and cited by the U.S. Air Force for risking his life more than 65 times for science.
After leaving the active Air Force in 1959 he would continue his service with the Air Force Reserves. Years later, the Reserve Sergeant engaged in a conversation with the aide for Congressman Bill Chappell that helped enable him to continue his military service. Congressman Chappell along with the Department of Defense was able to ensure Sergeant Yates received a presidential appointment to the rank of Captain with the stipulation that he first had to be accepted into a military unit. He was accepted into the Florida Ah National Guard in St. Augustine, Fl. On September 4, 1980, he was direct-commissioned into the Florida Air National Guard. During his first assignment, he served as the Social Action/Equal Opportunity Officer for the 125th Fighter-Interceptor Group. In April 1986 he was advanced to Chief of Social Actions Officer for the 125th Combat Support Squadron. During his final years in the Florida Air National Guard, Lt. Col. Yates was assigned to the Florida Air National Guard Headquarters where he continued to work in Equal Opportunity and Human Relations. In 1994, he led the Florida Air National Guard’s efforts to establish the STARBASE program in Florida and served as the first president for the support organization’s Board of Directors. He would go on to encourage racial diversity and equality in the military while serving from 1981 to 1996. LTCOL Yates would retire after serving over 31 years.
Axe Handle:
The 23-year-old Yates had survived test rides on a high-speed rocket sled in a program to determine how the human body would travel in space. But he knew he couldn’t live with what he experienced on his 1,700-mile drive from New Mexico Air Force Base back home to Jacksonville.
On his way home to Jacksonville after being released from active duty in 1959, he recounted in a 2010 interview with the Jacksonville Times-Union. He saw Ku Klux Klan billboards in Mississippi showing black people hanging from trees. Businesses would let him buy gas, but wouldn’t seat him for a meal or let him use the restroom. To avoid further hateful encounters, he decided to buy peanut butter and jelly and ate sandwiches the whole way home. Because of what he experienced on this faithful road trip and recalling all the skills and experiences he learned while in the Air Force, Yates went on to become vice president of NAACP’s Youth Council. He helped organize civil rights demonstrations, and in August 1960, ended up in the middle of a civil rights clash that pitted white men with ax handles and baseball bats against unarmed black youths. Yet, another time Yates risked his life - standing up for humans and how they live on Earth.
Post Military:
Disabled veteran Yates never stopped working for his community and fellow veterans. Appointed to the Florida Education Council by Governor Askew. Yates was also a member of Florida Community College at Jacksonville Foundation. Governor Bob Gramham would later appoint Yates to FCCJ’s board, chairing the of the board from 1988 through 1990.
Among his many titles, he has served as the City of Jacksonville’s Regulatory and Environmental Services Department and managed the Administration for the Community Economic Development Center at FCCJ. He is also a past President of Leadership Jacksonville and the Northeast Florida Safety Council.