Airmen History by Maycie Herrington

Efforts to have Negroes become a part of the Army Air Corp began in the late 1930's with the combined efforts of such men as Walter White of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, A. Philip Randolph, President of the Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters, The Pittsburgh Courier Newspaper, Roy Wilkins, Charles Hill, Robert Vann and Arnold Hill. These men were determined that Negroes in the military would not be treated the same as they were in World War I. In the spring of 1941 after calling to get the Air Force to accept Negroes for pilot training, A. Phillip Randolph went to the White House with what he called a proposal, but in President Roosevelt's eyes, it was viewed as a threat. Randolph said to Roosevelt in his booming voice, "there has to be a fair employment practice commission, with the power to investigate discrimination in government agencies and in companies working under government contracts, in order to ensure equal employment for Negroes in both. Randolph realized it would be difficult to get congressional approval but felt that President Roosevelt could create a temporary commission by executive order. To stress the important of this demand, Randolph said he would bring a hundred thousand Negroes to Washington on July 1, 1941 for a massive protest march.

Randolph included a demand for the immediate designation of centers where Negroes would be trained for work in all branches of the aviation corp. He said it was not enough to only train pilots. In addition, navigators, bombardiers, gunners, radiomen and mechanics must be trained in order to facilitate full Negro participation in the air service. The President sent his wife and Fiorelio LaGuardia, the mayor of New York City, to visit Randolph at his union headquarters to try again to persuade him to change his mind about the march. They did their best. They told Randolph that Washington's police force was filled with White Southerners who could not be trusted to protect the marchers. There was a danger of violence. "There's going to be bloodshed and death in Washington. You're going to get Negroes slaughtered," LaGuardia told him. "If you bring a hundred thousand people there", Eleanor Roosevelt added, "nobody will be able to control them."

Randolph refused to back down on his demand. After Mrs. Roosevelt and Mayor LaGuardia left, he went back to work. President Roosevelt's problem was that many members of Congress were already opposing him on everything he tried to do and even the whisper of a fair employment commission would set them off like Roman Candles. He knew that senators John Rankin and Theodore Bilbo from Mississippi would violently oppose any such action. In spite of this Randolph refused to yield and President Roosevelt had to make a choice, the commission or a march. The President sent a message to a young lawyer on his staff, Joseph L. Rauh, Jr. "We need an Executive Order for Fair Employment Practices Commission and we need it in a few hours." It became the famous Executive Order 8802. As Rauh worked to meet his deadline he coined a phrase that was to become one of the most powerful and familiar in American life. "No discrimination on the grounds of race, color, creed or national origin." The march was cancelled. On September 16, 1941, President Roosevelt signed the Burke-Wadsworth Bill, better known as the Selective Service Act. The bill prohibited racial discrimination on voluntary enlistment in any branch of the armed forces, including aviation units. The passage of the act, however, did not immediately open the Air Corps to Negroes. Next, First Lady, Eleanor Roosevelt arranged for Walter White, A. Philip Randolph, and T Arnold Hill, a National Youth Administration Official to meet with President Roosevelt on September 27, 1941 to discuss the issue of Negroes in the military.

Two weeks later, President Roosevelt approved the War Department policy statement regarding the use of Negro personnel. The policy, which became standard throughout World War II, called for proportional representation if all branches of the army but on a segregated basis. White, Hill and Randolph immediately denounced the statement since they never approved of the armed forces segregation policy. After continued criticism from the Black press, the army finally began detailed plans to establish an all Black flying unit. The next decision was to establish where the training would be held.

The Coffey School was interested in having the program in Chicago but never wrote a proposal and was not considered by the War Department. Tuskegee Institute had a civilian training program with four pilots. Based on this program G. L. Washington, an electrical engineer at Tuskegee Institute, wrote a proposal that he and President Patterson sent to the War Department through Maxwell Field. Tuskegee Institute had a problem in coming up with initial funds to start the program but with the help of Mrs. Roosevelt funding was obtained from the Julius Rosenwald Fund to complete the Airport at Moton Field. As a result of this proposal the Tuskegee Airmen were trained at Tuskegee Institute and the Tuskegee Army Air Force Base, eleven miles from the town of Tuskegee Alabama. The Air Force Base was built while the first five pilots were in training at Moton Field. 996 single engine pilots graduated from the training program at Tuskegee Army Airfield. 450 of these men were sent overseas and served during World War II. 55 were killed and a few were prisoners of war.

In the early 1970’s a few of the Tuskegee Airmen members got together to share and relive their experiences in Chicago Illinois. They then decided it would be a good idea to have chapters throughout the country and have annual meetings. We now have forty-five chapters nation wide. The Los Angeles chapter was formed in February 1974 as Tuskegee Airmen, Inc., Western Region. It became a Non-Profit California Corporation in March 1974 and had its name changed in August 1977 to Tuskegee Airmen, Inc., Los Angeles Chapter.