Tuskegee airmen biography facts record

Segregation in the Armed Forces

During the 1920s and ‘30s, the exploits of record-setting pilots like Charles Lindbergh and Amelia Earhart had captivated the nation, and thousands of young men and women clamored to follow in their footsteps.

But young African Americans who aspired to become pilots met with significant obstacles, starting with the widespread (racist) belief that Black people could not learn to fly or operate sophisticated aircraft.

In 1938, with Europe teetering on the brink of another great war, President Franklin D.

Roosevelt announced he would expand the civilian pilot training program in the United States.

At the time, racial segregation remained the rule in the U.S. armed forces—as well as much of the country. Much of the military establishment (particularly in the South) believed Black soldiers were inferior to whites, and performed relatively poorly in combat.

But as the AAC began ramping up its training program, Black newspapers like the Chicago Defende