Double V: The Civil Rights Struggle of the Tuskegee Airmen

Introduction

Introduction A s America mourned the death of President Roosevelt on 12 April 1945, another tragic event, which occurred the same day, went completely unnoticed. The U.S. Army Air Force, in a move unprecedented in the history of the U.S. Army, arrested 101 African American pilots, navigators and bombardiers for disobeying a direct order from a superior officer. The officers were charged with violating the 64th Article of War-a crime that, in wartime, carried a penalty of death upon conviction. The 101 officers had risked their lives by refusing to sign an order that would have placed them in segregated housing and recreational facilities unbecoming of American officers and gentlemen. While Harry S. Truman took the oath of office of president of the United States, the 101 officers were secretly flown to an air base inside Ft. Knox and placed under arrest in their barracks, surrounded by twelve-foot barbed wire fences and armed guards. These 101 officers, and what happened to them, personify the nearschizophrenic struggle for civil and human rights in a democracy during the struggle for survival in defense of democracy in a foreign land. While America and its European allies were waging war against the fascism and racism of the Axis powers, the 101 officers and other black officers and enlisted men involved in combat were attempting to achieve two victories-to stop Hitler overseas and to stop racism in America. Thousands of young African-American men volunteered to fight for their freedom with hopes that their example of patriotism would change the national disposition toward African Americans. This mode of protest reached its zenith during World War II, when the AfricanAmerican community organized around the idea of a double victory1 2 Double V victory at home, as well as victory abroad. The African-American press, and specifically the Pittsburgh Courier, endorsed and cultivated the concept of a double victory into a rally cry and logo: "Double V." The Courier promoted the "Double V" campaign nationwide with "Double V" buttons, posters, bumper stickers, clubs, dances, and other fundraising activities for the war effort. The Courier and other African-American publications, to the best of their limited capability, kept black America appraised of the struggle for victory overseas and victory at home. We therefore felt that "Double V" was a historically appropriate title for our publication. Since the story behind the arrest of the 101 officers and the adventures of other aviators who preceded them is an illustration of a longrunning battle for civil rights, we have expanded the title to: Double v.. The Civil Rights Struggle ofthe Tuskegee Airmen. Double V chronicles, for the first time ever, a part of the civil rights movement in which African-American aviators played critical roles. The book recounts the struggle, from 1914 to 1947, of the African-American pilots, men and women, who overcame racial barriers just to fly airplanes . Double V will document how they removed the barriers to success and how, in the process, they provided the foundation for the modern day civil rights movement. We selected pilots as the main characters because they were among the best America had to offer, and because they had the most to contribute . They were adventurous, courageous, and talented. They were the natural leaders. During the period covered in the book, most African American pilots were college-educated and had private pilot'S licenses. Those men who flew in World War II were well-versed in the sciences and mathematics and were the most educated pilots in the Army Air Force until the Army relaxed its education requirements. All of the chapters are based on facts confirmed and verified by extensive research of published and unpublished works, oral histories from the airmen, the black press, and government documents. The book is meant to be entertaining, as well as disconcerting, in detailing the predicaments in which the aviators found themselves. Many events are exposed to the public for the first time. Some events are revisited for the first time in fifty years. The reader will be amazed at the exploits of the pilots and inspired by their courage in facing adversity. • In the summer of 1914, Europe's great powers were engaged in the final stages of a nineteenth-century struggle for economic dominance over untapped resources and markets in Africa and Asia. Yet, the very acquisition ofcolonies in these faraway lands contributed to growing hostility...