Tuskegee Airmen

When the US entered World War II, the idea was foreign that black troops had the skill or courage to fight alongside white soldiers in war. "Compared to the white man, [a black man] is admittedly of inferior mentality. He is inherently weak in character." claimed one War Department report. Consequently, the armed forces were heavily segregated. African-Americans were often given the most menial jobs, and were barred from enlisting in certain branches of the military like the Marines or the Air Corps. Still, one million, two hundred thousand African-Americans fought in the Second World War (Jim Crow 1). And in doing so, they proved once and for all that black Americans deserved a chance to fight for their country. Among these soldiers were the Tuskegee Airmen, the first ever black fighter pilots. They out-performed other, white, escort squadrons, and achieved fame and glory with their impressive flying. But more than that, they destroyed forever the assumption that African-Americans didn't have the skills necessary to fight in war. The Tuskegee Airmen faced racism and endured rigorous training, but flew excellently in World War II, aiding in the eventual integration of all armed forces.

In the 1930's, the military's admission policies were largely based upon cruel and unfounded generalizations about African-Americans, opinions masquerading as science. However, when President Franklin D. Roosevelt was reelected in 1940, it was only with the support of black voters. Eager to strengthen that support, and at the urging of civil rights groups like the NAACP, he ordered to Army Air Corps to establish a flight training school in Tuskegee, Alabama ("Black Eagles" 1). It was held at the Tuskegee Institute, now the Tuskegee University, one...

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... men and women. 450 of those graduates actually fought in World War 2 ("Black Eagles" 1). Now, the Tuskegee Airmen is a not-for-profit organization, committed to helping others realize their dreams and fly.

To conclude, the Tuskegee Airmen overcame overwhelming racism to train to become fighter pilots. They persevered through cramped conditions and racist instructors to graduate and fight for their country. They flew to glory in World War II, impressing even their most dedicated critics with their record-setting aviation. And most important, they proved to all of America that black soldiers deserved their place on the battlefield. As Tuskegee graduate Calvin Moret puts it, "I don't know if we felt that's what we were trying to do at the time. But it certainly has resulted in that we have proven…that we have capabilities that so many people did not think we had. "