Harold Hurd  was born in raised in Chicago, Illinois. He attended Wendell Phillips High School. During his spare time he would go down to the local airport to watch the planes take-off and land. Hurd was was inspired by such aviators as Lindbergh. The era of the 1920s was an exciting time for aviators and suddenly everybody wanted to learn how to fly.

But these times were also highly segregated. African Americans found it difficult connecting with flight instructors who would teach them and often line crew would not fuel the planes of black student pilots. Hurd would visit the airport at dawn to avoid the harassment. With training, he became one of the first African American aviators in the Midwest. Today, he is Chicago's only living pioneer black aviator. Mr. Hurd formed the first flying black club 1930. Later, he was involved in establishing Robbins Airport, the first airport in the country founded by African Americans.