At the Tuskegee Airmen National Historic Site in Tuskegee, Alabama, Lieutenant Ronaqua Russell is
the first African-American female in the Coast Guard to be awarded the Air Medal for her rescue
efforts during Hurricane Harvey. I wouldn't be sitting here today to receive this award if
you know the Tuskegee Airmen didn't exist. But who are the Tuskegee Airmen?
As World War II began to threaten the United States many black men volunteered for a new army
group becoming the first African-American pilots in the U.S. military these young black college
students were stationed in Tuskegee, Alabama where they not only face tough flight training but also
racism and prejudice for many white officers they were fighting for the opportunity to fight
for their country, a country that treated them as second-rate citizens. But with relentless courage
extraordinary skills and fierce determination they became among the best pilots in the military.
The story of the Tuskegee Airmen is a big story and it's an amazing story. They're the knights
of the contemporary age. These guys look pretty good.
The actors portraying the Tuskegee Airmen, we were sat literally at their feet and they were
telling us stories of what their experience had been like one of the things that is so shocking
is that they were in their late teens and early 20s when they were doing this. Do you
feel the responsibility to be somebody to look up to for the kids back home? We were the local
rock stars of the Black community. With the tales of their aircraft painted a distinctive red
they flew nearly 1500 combat missions and won distinguished unit citations.
Due in part to the extraordinary accomplishments of the Tuskegee Airmen the military was
desegregated, but they came back to an America that wouldn't even let them participate in the
parade celebrating the returning soldiers yet they persevered to become professors, presidents
of corporations, activists in their community, and two of the airmen became four-star generals.
History has largely ignored or misrepresented the contributions of Black Americans
leaving the Tuskegee Airmen overlooked and left out of America's narrative.
They were indisputable heroes
so to hide how high the bar they set was is denying generations of people that bar
to aspire to we must get it right so I really hope that the education system in a broad sense
embraces the teaching of this history because it's not just Black history it's American history
It's important to shine a light on their incredible contributions to the war and to
the advancement of our country. This story is very important and timely for now and today the idea of
black lives matter, boy did those black lives matter because those black lives saved millions
of lives and that reminds us to never give up don't let other people stop you, don't let other
people kill your dreams. That is a timeless story for generations, may we remember their stories,
may we live up to their example. We want to carry the legacy of the Tuskegee Airmen forward and
honor them by challenging everybody to in their own way figure out how they can fly like them.
It was a time in history that we should be very proud of. It's a time in history where we helped
change the world and I think we set the star very very high for anybody who's following us.
Post your own story about overcoming adversity on your social channels
fly like them visit Lucasfilm.com to watch the documentary about the Tuskegee Airmen,
Double Victory lucasfilm.com/tuskegee airmen