Howard Arthur Tibbs, 1919-1986: A Tuskegee Airman's Story in Pictures

"Give each day your best," Howard Tibbs used to say, "and the best is bound to come back to you." Tibbs, an African American from Salem, Ohio, who served in the Army Air Corps during World War II, was a man who lived in accordance with that principle. For Tibbs in April 1943, giving his best meant leaving the only life he had ever known to answer his nation's call to arms. He spent much of World War II traveling from base to base in the service of his country, always accompanied by two of his greatest loves: his saxophone and his camera. They proved to be worthy comrades indeed. Tibbs' skill as a musician opened doors that were closed to most African-American servicemen; it also allowed him to experience the realities of life faced by African Americans in many different places and in many different ways. His skill as a photographer allowed him to leave a chronicle of these realities that is at once both harsh and inspirational.

On many levels, the story of Howard Arthur Tibbs is not unique. African Americans across the United States assisted the war effort in numerous capacities, including military service. Between 1940 and 1945, the number of African-Americans in the military rose from 5,000 to 920,000, and the number of officers grew from 5 to over 7,000. ¹ Numbers, however, tell only part of the story. African-American soldiers also saw a dramatic expansion in the type of positions available to them. In World War II, African Americans for the first time were radiomen, electricians, pilots, tank drivers, and doctors. They landed on the beaches of Normandy; drove tanks in the Battle of the Bulge; and comprised more than half of the Transportation Corps in Europe. African- American women also served the cause in the European theater, working in the all-black 6888 Central Postal Directory Battalion, which sought to ensure mail delivery to those fighting at the front. "I wanted to prove to myself, and maybe the world," Elaine Bennett wrote, "that we would give what we had back to the United States as a confirmation that we were full-fledged citizens." ²

It was a service that often came despite great opposition. In 1940, President Franklin Roosevelt signed into law the Selective Service Act, which prohibited the integration of the races in the Army. Although Roosevelt would change his position, many American leaders did not. "Leadership," wrote Secretary of War Henry Stimson, "is not embedded in the negro race yet . . . .I hope for heaven's sake they won't mix the white and colored troops together in the same units for then we shall certainly have trouble." ³ African-American soldiers routinely saw these sentiments expressed in their daily lives, as they faced segregation, prejudice, and violence often on a daily basis. Common are the stories of African Americans in uniform watching from outside as segregated restaurants on or near military bases served German prisoners of war; being forcibly removed from movie theaters that were for whites only; and in extreme cases, enduring the brutality of racists that left them severely injured, or even dead. "Our war is not against Hitler in Europe, but against Hitler in America," wrote columnist George Schuyler. ⁴ Through it all, however, the African-American community not only endured but also thrived.

The most famous African Americans in uniform were the Tuskegee Airmen. ⁵ In January 1941, the United States military authorized the creation of an African- American flight squadron, which began in March as the 99th Pursuit Squadron. The U.S. Army Air Corps trained these pilots in isolation in Tuskegee, Alabama. The first class of cadets began in July 1941, with five of the original thirteen men completing the nine-month aviation program; over the next four years, just under a thousand cadets would follow in their footsteps. The original group included...