Reread lines 1-8. Identify the author's purpose and cite text evidence that supports your idea.



"American aviation was from its very beginnings marred
with sexist and racist assumptions. It was taken for
granted that women were generally inferior to men and that
white men were superior to all others. Flying, it was said,
required a level of skill and courage that women and blacks
lacked. Yet despite these prevailing prejudices, the dream
and the desire to fly stayed alive among women and African-
Americans."