Col. Kenneth Wofford of the Tuskegee Airmen
Posted by Steve Frazier
Our Program on April 6th was presented by Col. Kenneth Wofford. He is a member of the Tuskegee Airmen, and he recounted some of the problems that his group encountered during WWII. Col Wofford is black, as are all of the members of the Tuskegee Airmen.
In the 1920s, the first black was licensed as a pilot. Because of racial barriers, she was trained in France. In that time period, there was a policy document stating that blacks were not good pilots. In 1936, Benjamin Davis graduated from WEst Point - the first black to do so, despite 4 years of icy silence from his classmates - and applied for aviation school. He was denied, and in 1940 the NAACP filed a class action lawsuit demanding that blacks be admitted to the Army Air Corps. The result of the law suit was an "aviation experiment" resulting in a racially segregated air base in Tuskegee Mississippi. The first class of 13 started their 40 weeks of training in July, 1941.
By 1942, there were 3 fighter squadrons of 25 fighter planes each; in 1943, a bomber group - 4 squadrons of B-25s - were ready. The first black combat group was the 99th Fighter Squadron, which was based in Africa first, then was moved forward to Italy after the invasion. The Tuskegee planes all had bright red tails, and the units had a reputation for completing their primary mission, which was escorting bombers to targets in Germany. After the end of the European conflict, the units were being shipped to Asia just as the Japanese surrendered.
The Tuskegee Airmen as individuals and as a unit received many awards and the units did a great deal toward changing America's perception of black people. It took a famous bus ride, a group walk, a lunch counter episode, and the murder of two black leaders before the American people started to understand that skin color is not one of the measures of a person. (Story by Tad shaw and photo by Steve Frazier)
In the 1920s, the first black was licensed as a pilot. Because of racial barriers, she was trained in France. In that time period, there was a policy document stating that blacks were not good pilots. In 1936, Benjamin Davis graduated from WEst Point - the first black to do so, despite 4 years of icy silence from his classmates - and applied for aviation school. He was denied, and in 1940 the NAACP filed a class action lawsuit demanding that blacks be admitted to the Army Air Corps. The result of the law suit was an "aviation experiment" resulting in a racially segregated air base in Tuskegee Mississippi. The first class of 13 started their 40 weeks of training in July, 1941.
By 1942, there were 3 fighter squadrons of 25 fighter planes each; in 1943, a bomber group - 4 squadrons of B-25s - were ready. The first black combat group was the 99th Fighter Squadron, which was based in Africa first, then was moved forward to Italy after the invasion. The Tuskegee planes all had bright red tails, and the units had a reputation for completing their primary mission, which was escorting bombers to targets in Germany. After the end of the European conflict, the units were being shipped to Asia just as the Japanese surrendered.
The Tuskegee Airmen as individuals and as a unit received many awards and the units did a great deal toward changing America's perception of black people. It took a famous bus ride, a group walk, a lunch counter episode, and the murder of two black leaders before the American people started to understand that skin color is not one of the measures of a person. (Story by Tad shaw and photo by Steve Frazier)