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[[caption]] THE BLACK EAGLES [[caption]]

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[[caption]] "Jim Crow's Graveyard" - Airman of the 99th Fighter Squadron and the 332nd Fighter Groups in Europe prove that Blacks can fly and fight as combat pilots. [[/caption]]

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[[caption]] Knows as the "Father of Black Aviation," ALfred "Chief" Anderson explains the role of Blacks in aviation and as combat pilots in WWII. [[/caption]]

THE STORY OF AMERICA'S BLACK AIR FORCE TOLD FOR THE FIRST TIME

During February, in tribute to Black History Month, TONY BROWN'S JOURNAL on the nation's public television stations (PBS) turns the pages of American military history back four decades to expose the contributions of some of the nation's unrecognized and nearly-forgotten heroes: The Tuskegee Airmen.

The historic epic of America's only Black Air Force is captured in a four-part Black History Month Special, "The Black Eagles." The series followed the 10,000 men and women of the "Tuskegee Experiment" in and out of two wars: one against the German Luftwaffe and the other against the racist doctrine perpetrated by the military and American society as a whole. It is certainly the story of a dramatic and visible victory over segregation—still not documented in most history books. So, after more than four decades and while most of them are still alive, The Tuskegee Airmen tell their own story.

TONY BROWN's JOURNAL is the nation's longest-running, Black-Affairs television series and has been sponsored by Pepsi-Cola Company for eight consecutive years. Televised nationally on public television.

The story began with "Clipped Wings," a review of the Jim Crow laws that excluded Blacks from flight training and the Black community's response to the Army Air Corps's discriminatory policies.

The program follows this dark period in racial relations up to the establishment of the "Tuskegee Experiment," an odious attempt to find out if Blacks could perform as combat pilots. From the first class of graduates, the 99th Fighter Squadron was formed, which demonstrated that Blacks could fly. But can they fight? As Part I ends, the 99th goes overseas to face the enemy.

Tuskegee Experiment when critics of the 99th's overseas combat performance claimed that Blacks had failed the test. After stateside controversy over the fitness of Blacks to fight as combat pilots and a Senate hearing, the experiment was expanded to include the all-Black 332nd Fighter Group.

The war record of the 99th and 332nd highlights the third part of the series, "Jim Crow's Graveyard." The program documents the illustrious combat performance of the Tuskegee Airmen in Europe after the 99th joined the 332nd Fighter Group in July, 1944. The all-Black fighter group ended the war with the Distinguished Unit Citation, numerous individual citations and a spectacular record.

During the war, the 99th and the 332nd flew 200 missions as heavy bomber escorts into Western Europe and the Balkans without losing a single bomber to enemy planes. Only this all-Black air force can make that claim.

Had the sacrifices been in vain? Had the 99th and 332nd make Black America's case for an integrated air force? "Red Tails and Black Aces," the last episode of "The Black Eagles," answers those questions. This segment chronicles the evolution of the "Red Tailed Angels," as they were affectionately called by the White bomber crews they protected.

The elimination of the American version of apartheid and the desegregation of the armed forces were, in large part, accomplished by the combat performance of the Tuskegee Airmen during WWII. What they proved was one of the greatest civil rights accomplishments of the 20th century.

Guests on this Black History Month public television special read like a veritable "Who's Who" among Black Americans, Tuskegee Airmen who have gone on to succeed in other fields. Also shown in this series is a classic WWII film narrated by movie actor Ronald Reagan, detailing the sacrifices of the Tuskegee Airmen and Afro-Americans during the World War II mobilization effort.

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