Only three-quarters of a century has passed since the Department of Defense ended segregation in the US Armed Forces in 1948. Five years after, the first black flying squadron (The Tuskegee Airmen) was deployed overseas to North Africa in April 1943. On Wednesday, July 26, 2023, three of the remaining Tuskegee Airmen were at a ceremony at Joint Base Andrews in Prince Georges County, Maryland, to mark the anniversary. They fought in World War Two, and Wednesday’s event recognized their legacy and heritage. The crowd honored Colonel Carl Johnson, Lieutenant Colonel Shelton, Ivan Ware, and William Thomas Fauntleroy Junior. All three are Tuskegee Airmen who trained at Tuskegee Army Airfield. Also recognized at the event, the historic aircraft, the PT17 the Airmen flew was officially inducted into the Tuskegee Airmen Collection at the National Museum of the US Air Force at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base near Dayton, Ohio.

Also, on this day, Morgan Freeman, an Air Force veteran himself, surprised families at a nonprofit event in DC. “Diversity in our nation is our greatest strength,” he said.

I share this on the fact that Blacks/African Americans have played a significant role in building this nation despite Lynchings, Jim Crow laws, Segregation, Peonage (Slavery by Another Name by Douglas A. Blackmon), etc. History repeats itself because it is told with restrictions through the minds of the oppressor. The new demonstration of power, “The Banning of Books.”

“Guidance Against the Odds” ©2016 Sharing, daring to care.