PATRIOT AVIATORS:” They are the first line of defense, the protectors of our fleets and the rulers of the skies against all enemies. They are the pilots of America’s armed forces, highly skilled flyers who became the stars of war stories and the ingredients of legends. From their unique perspectives, these aviators, including members of…
Sixty years following the surprise attack at Pearl Harbor, America relived a similar horror on September 11, 2001. And while the events of December 7, 1941, sent this country to war, the events of September 11 forged a new era of patriotism and turned the spotlight on the veterans who gave their lives for their…
African-American women in military service also did not receive proper recognition for their service. The 6888th Central Postal Directory Battalion was the only African-American WAC unit to serve overseas in WWII. This unit was responsible for redirecting the mail to the GIs on the battlefield, a Sisyphean feat, considering that troops were constantly on the…
“A REAL TOUGH GUY” GEN. FRANK E. PETERSEN: Tony Brown sits down and talks one-on-one with the US Marines’ 1st Black general – General Frank E. Petersen. In a 2016 ceremony at Marine Corps Air Station Cherry Point, Secretary of the Navy Ray Mabus announced that the Arleigh Burke-class destroyer, DDG 121, will be named…
Red Tails and Black Aces: As a result of the “Tuskegee Experiment” being a proven success and used as a basis to demonstrate that Blacks could perform with excellence and in air combat and leadership roles, President Harry Truman, in 1948, signed the executive order to integrate the entire military. The mere decision to go…
The Tuskegee Airmen — Part 3 – Jim Crow’s Graveyard. Shooting down German airplanes, rather than effectively carrying out the assigned duties of close ground support and bomber escort, emerged as the criterion for the judgment of combat performance for the 99th. Ironically, at the height of the controversy stateside, the 99th received a reassignment…
Criticism of the 99th’s overseas combat record was instantaneous and virulent. After only a few months in combat, the Commander of the 12th Air Support Command assailed the performance of the Black pilots. “Officers of all professions,” he said, felt that “the Negro type has not the proper reflexes to make a first-class fighter pilot.”…
The Tuskegee Airmen — “America’s Black Air Force” in WWII The pilots of America’s WWII armed forces were highly skilled flyers who became the stars of war stories and the ingredients of legends. These Black pilots were and are the first line of defense, the protectors of our fleets and the rulers of the skies…
Ralph Cooper: There Was A Time … Ralph Cooper was an icon of the Apollo Theater legacy for decades. He was the founder and original emcee of the Original Harlem Amateur Night at the Apollo Theater in 1935 in Harlem, New York City. This long tradition ended with his death on August 4, 1992. However,…
Separatism never has been the major driving force of Black Colleges. Clearly, these schools were not the evil the Brown versus Board of Education decision sought to eradicate. They were the product, not the cause of the evil identified in Brown v. Board of Ed, that is, the exclusion of Black students from White institutions….
