“Red Tails” At The White House

Sonya Montgomery

President Barack Obama and the First Lady held a private screening of “Red Tails” at the White House a week before the movie opened at the box office. They invited cast and crew, the movie’s director, and members of the original Tuskegee Airmen.

Trent Dudley, a retired Air Force lieutenant colonel and president of the Tuskegee Airmen chapter in Washington, D.C., called it “a tremendous recognition of all the contributions airmen made not only in World War II but in the fight against racism.”

The Liftoff of “Red Tails”

Before World War II, African Americans were not permitted to fly for their country. But with pressure from the Black Press as well as several civil rights organizations, a pursuit squadron comprised only of African American soldiers was formed in Tuskegee, Alabama in 1941. These men are known as the Tuskegee Airmen, and it is this group that director George Lucas chose to focus on in his film “Red Tails.”

The “Tuskegee Experiment,” as it was called, was the program the Army Air Corps created to train African American soldiers to fly in combat. The program trained this group to be navigators, pilots, and bombardiers, as well as maintenance and support staff and instructors.

The Tuskegee Airmen painted the tails of their aircraft red to distinguish themselves from other aviators during the war. They were not permitted to fight alongside white aviators in combat and were set apart as a segregated unit.

President Obama and the Airmen

President Obama has a history of paying homage to the Tuskegee Airmen.  The role of the airmen in American integration was so significant that each of the surviving airmen were invited to celebrate the inauguration of the president in 2009. These pioneers helped pave the way for equality, and it exceeded their wildest dreams to see a black man elected president of the United States.

In 2007 during President Obama’s days as an Illinois state senator, the Tuskegee Airmen were presented with the Congressional Gold Medal. At that time, he said, “My career in public service was made possible by the path heroes like the Tuskegee Airmen trail-blazed.” Five years later, he saluted them again with an invitation to the White House to watch a movie about their historic feats.