The Tuskegee Airmen were the first black aviators in the US military forces. Before then they were not allowed to fly in the military becuase of segregation in America. Black people were in the military but they were not allowed in positions due to they way viewed at the time as incompetent. They were allowed in the forces in 1940 because mounting pressure from activists but it was only supposed be an experiment because most thought they would …show more content…
They were trained in Rantoul, Illinois. The group become the core squadron at Tuskegee in Alabama. The 99th squadron was the first to form, the Tuskegee experiment officially begin in June of 1941. They were put under the command of Benjamin Davis Jr. he was one of he of the few that graduated through West Point Academy.In the 1940’s, the United States Military, like so much of the nation, was segregated. The so-called Jim Crow Laws kept blacks from entering public places such as libraries, restaurants and movie theaters. Although African Americans served in the armed forces, they were restricted in the types of jobs and positions they could hold. On April 3, 1939, Public Law 18 was passed which provided for an expansion of the Army Air Corps. One section of the law offered hope for those African Americans who wanted to advance their military careers beyond the kitchen or the motor pool. It called for the creation of training programs to be located at black colleges which would prepare blacks for service in a variety of areas in the Air Corps support services. On January 16th, 1941, the War Department announced the creation of the 99th Pursuit Squadron. This was to be an all black flying unit trained at the Tuskegee Institute founded in Tuskegee, Alabama, by Booker T. Washington in 1881. Charles A. Anderson, a self-taught African American pilot had established a …show more content…
According to, (https://www.nps.gov/museum/exhibits/tuskegee/airwar.htm)”Training” this was a segregated training site. The first class was held in 1941. This training site taught the men the basics of flying. Because of the war, Tuskegee trained over 1,000 pilots. All of these men were black. The Air Corps oversaw this training.The primary flight training for these service members took place at the Division of Aeronautics of Tuskegee Institute. Air Corps officials built a separate facility at Tuskegee Army Air Field to train the pilots. The Tuskegee Airmen not only battled enemies during wartime but also fought against racism and segregation thus proving they were just as good as any other pilot. Racism was common during World War II and many people did not want blacks to become pilots. They trained in overcrowded classrooms and airstrips, and suffered from the racist attitude of some military officials. The Tuskegee Airman suffered many hardships, but they proved themselves to be world class pilots.
“Even though the Tuskegee Airmen proved their worth as military pilots they were still forced to operate in segregated units and did not fight alongside their white