At the moment as People replicate on the legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., my ideas go to these African American Airmen who preceded Dr. King into battle, shining a light-weight for civil rights inside America’s armed forces. African People have fought bravely in each battle in our historical past, together with the American Revolution. However it might take a world warfare and the heroic efficiency of a choose few to really break the colour barrier and assist American army forces dwell as much as the promise within the Declaration of Independence: that each one of us are created equal.
We all know these pioneers at present because the Tuskegee Airmen, about 14,000 Black troopers who skilled to struggle for freedom abroad although they did not have true freedom right here at house. They serve in all-Black items as a result of even within the Forties our nation hadn’t but correctly built-in.
Solely 992 of the 14,000 Tuskegee Airmen had been pilots; the others carried out the complete vary of duties, from navigation and bombardiers to mechanics and administration, essential to function squadrons, wings, and teams. Only one 12 months in the past, eight of these pilots had been nonetheless alive. Following the demise Jan. 12 of Harold H. Brown, at this writing, simply three of the heroes who flew the distinctive red-tailed P-51 Mustangs survive: Charles W. Cooper, George E. Hardy, and Harry T. Stewart Jr.
Martin Luther King Jr. impressed and shamed People to resist a racist previous. His legacy lives on at present, as does the spirit of these pioneering Tuskegee Airmen. America proved victorious in World Conflict II as a result of we leveraged all of the expertise inside our attain. Allow us to recommit collectively to at all times keep in mind we’re many individuals, from many backgrounds and with many individiual views. However we’re one nation, united as one, and strongest collectively.
Bruce “Orville” Wright
President & CEO
