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Tuskegee Airmen Discrimination

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“The Tuskegee Airmen served a nation not willing to serve them. Their legacy made my rise in the military possible. I stood on their shoulders. They made America better for all of us.” General Colin Powell, former Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. Just as Jackie Robinson broke the color barrier for Major League Baseball on April 15, 1947, the Tuskegee Airmen broke the barrier in the military. As a result of their brave service in the air and on the ground during WWII, the U.S. Military desegregated in 1948. The Tuskegee Airmen, a group of young black Americans, were eager to serve the United States Military as fighter pilots because it gave them technical and tactical skills, provided the black man an opportunity for advancements, and due to their skin color, they were never allowed to fly prior to WWII. The U.S. Military limited African Americans from skilled training and leadership positions because it was thought that they lacked intelligence, skill, courage, and patriotism. Many African Americans applied and were denied entrance into the Army Air Corps (later known as the U.S. Air Force). “The War Department 's policy of racial discrimination was based on a 1925 War College …show more content…

The Tuskegee Airmen, faced racial discrimination in a segregated military, but was given the technical and tactical skills to be pilots and officers when due to their skin color; they were never allowed to fly prior to WWII. The Tuskegee Airmen proved to American society that “no discrepancy existed between the effectiveness of properly trained black and white soldiers.” On July 26, 1948, President Truman issued an executive order that outlawed racial segregation in the United States Armed Forces. The Tuskegee Airmen broke the color barrier in the United States military due to their heroics during

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