[Author’s Name]
[Institution’s Name]
Essay on Tuskegee Airmen of World War II
Some combat airmen faced not simply the challenge of enemy opposition but also the challenge of fighting against the prevailing racial attitudes and mores of mid-twentieth-century America. The Army Air Force trained and sent to Italy an entire fighter group of African-American fighter pilots. These combat airmen, usually called "The Tuskegee Airmen" because most were trained in Tuskegee, Alabama, fought what they termed a "two-front war." (Charles Francis, 1993) In combat, they fought the Germans, but on the ground they fought against racial stereotypes.
They knew that only intense lobbying on the part of the black community, as well as wartime necessity, had persuaded the Army brass to earmark them for combat, since the vast majority of African-American servicemen in World War II were deliberately used for support duties. Many white Americans and high-ranking officers felt blacks did not have the "instincts, courage, or reliability" to function well in combat. Roscoe Brown, a fighter pilot in the 332d, outlined the barriers that faced black combat pilots: "We fought two wars, one against Fascism, one against segregation, and sometimes you couldn't tell which one you were fighting. Our aim was to convince white people that if we could do the job as well as or better than they, they wouldn't be prejudiced. The only way people learn not to be prejudiced is if they have a whole range of social experiences. But we neutralized an excuse for excluding us.
In saying that he and his fellow pilots "neutralized an excuse," Brown was referring to the excellent combat record his unit compiled in Italy. Black pilots proved themselves to be willing, able, and aggressive pilots in combat, but they had to fight an uphill battle to establish that reputation.Some whites, including some combat airmen, viewed blacks as inferior......
