African-Americans in aviation to be profiled during Black history month
February 1st, 2012 | Flightlines | Posted by Markeshia Ricks
Black history month starts today and the Air Force wants you to know some of the African-American men and women who helped make aviation and the Air Force what it is today.
The Air Force will profile a different African-American man or woman each day in aviation or Air Force history during the month of February, according to a press release.
The series, which the service is using to help mark Black history month, will start with Bessie Coleman, who at the beginning of the 20th century was forced to leave the U.S. to fulfill her aviation dreams, but would eventually become the first African-American woman to earn a pilot’s license.
The series also will highlight men like Eugene Jacques Bullard, the first African-American military combat pilot, and William Powell, a licensed pilot, navigator and aeronautical engineer.
The Tuskegee Airmen and other men and women who were early pioneers in the Air Force also will be featured over the next 29 days, according to the press release.
Tags: Bessie Coleman, black history month, Eugene Jacques Bullard, Tuskegee Airmen, William Powell
Red Tails Flying into Theaters January 2012
August 8th, 2011 | Flightlines | Posted by Markeshia Ricks
Airmen got a sneak peek at two of the trailers for the much anticipated George Lucas film Red Tails, at the Tuskege
e Airmen 40th National Conference.
But don’t look for Denzel Washington, Will Smith or Don Cheadle to grace the big screen when the film about the famed airmen hits theaters Jan. 20, 2012. Most of these guys were a little too old to play the young men that Lucas needed to make the film.
Actors Terrence Howard (Iron Man, Hustle & Flow) and Cuba Gooding Jr. (Jerry McGuire, Men of Honor) might be easily recognizable as the senior officers in the film, but the majority of the cast is made up of lesser known actors like Andre Royo ( “Bubbles” on the HBO series The Wire), Michael B. Jordan (Friday Night Lights) and Nate Parker (The Great Debaters). Look for performances from actor/entertainers Method Man, of the rap group Wu-Tang Clan and R&B crooner/producer Ne-Yo.
The movie appears to have the full backing of the original Tuskegee airmen that were in attendance at the conference. Retired Col. Charles E. McGee, a Tuskegee airmen and fighter pilot, called the film “tremendous.”
“Seeing it on the wide screen was almost like you were in there again,” he said.
We’re having some technical difficulties embedding the video of the trailer, but click this Red Tails Trailer link to check it out.
Tags: Col. Charles McGee, Cuba Gooding Jr., Denzel Washington, Don Cheadle, George Lucas, Method Man, Nate Parker, Ne-Yo, Red Tails, Terrence Howard, Tuskegee Airmen, Will Smith