The Untold Story of The Tuskegee Airmen: Pioneering Black Pilots of WWII
During a time when segregation was the societal standard, racism was widely practiced, and Black Americans were widely discriminated against, the United States was in the shadow of Pearl Harbor and on the brink of World War Two. At the same time, the U.S. was ranked the 16th largest military in the world and desperately needed pilots.
Due to the uncertainty of another world war coupled with a lack of military manpower, in 1939 the U.S. government created the Civilian Pilot Training Program. This federally-funded and segregated program allowed Black Americans to train on combat aircraft and learn how to fly in case of another war.
These black American pilots would go on to become the Tuskegee Airmen, who against all odds proved that black Americans in all aspects had the same mental and intellectual capacities as white Americans
In this video, we’re going to take a look at a group of incredible men who broke down barriers and shattered stereotypes during one of the most tumultuous times in American history.
For many years, the story of the Tuskegee Airmen—a group of African American airmen who flew combat missions in racially segregated units in World War II—was not well known to the American public. Although much research remains to be done, the story of these men has in recent years gained some much deserved fame, thanks not only to memoirs and scholarly histories, but also to several motional pictures, books, television shows, documentaries, and other pop culture references. Their story is one of triumph, as their exemplary performance helped pave the way for the integration of the United States armed services in 1948.
The struggle of African Americans for greater roles in North American military conflicts spans four centuries. Opportunities for African American participation in the U.S. military were always very limited and controversial.
Quotas, exclusion, and racial discrimination were based on the prevailing attitude in the United States, particularly on the part of the U.S. military, that African Americans did not possess the intellectual capacity, aptitude, and skills to be successful fighters.
Political pressure exerted by the black press, civil rights groups, historically black colleges and universities, and others, resulted in the formation of the Tuskegee Airmen, making them an excellent example of the struggle by African Americans to serve in the United States military.
In the early 1940s, key leaders within the United States Army Air Corps (Army Air Forces) did not believe that African Americans had the intellectual capacity to become successful military pilots.
Many of these opinions stemmed from a survey conducted in 1925 by the Army War College, now called the Department of Defense, titled: The Employment of Negro Manpower In War.
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