The Tuskegee Airmen and beyond : the road to equality / David G. Styles

Object Details

Summary

"By studying military conflict, this book traces the story of the African American quest for freedom and liberty from the days of the Revolutionary War to the 21st Century. It follows the earliest struggle for liberty from slavery, when some 200,000 African American slaves and free men fought on both sides in return for the promise of freedom. Some, but pitifully few, did achieve their freedom, though most returned to the lot that had been dealt to them by their owners and the abolition of slavery did not give them equality. The Spanish American War was followed twenty years later by the "Great War" - the war to end all wars, where over three hundred African American soldiers were awarded the Croix de Guerre, France's highest award for valor, yet only one was awarded the Medal of Honor by the United States - seventy-three years after his death on the battlefield.

War II brought the first all-black-crewed fighter squadron, the 99th, followed by the 332nd Fighter Group, the most highly decorated group of men in their theaters of war. These men were also the catalyst of political action to bring desegregation to the Armed Forces, by means of President Harry Truman's Executive Order 9981, which preceded the Civil Rights Act by twenty years. Since President Lyndon Johnson's signing of the Civil Rights Act into law, we have seen sometimes great, but faltering, steps forward. African Americans have finally risen to the top in their chosen careers - four-star generals, astronauts and ultimately an African American President."-- Publisher's website.

Data Source

Smithsonian Libraries

Date

2013

Author

Styles, David G

Subject

United States Army Air Forces Fighter Group, 332nd

United States Army Air Forces Fighter Squadron, 99th

United States Army Air Forces Composite Group, 477th

United States Army Air Forces African American troops

Type

Books

Physical description

295 p. : ill. ; 24 cm

Topic

African Americans--History

World War, 1939-1945--Participation, African American

African American air pilots--History

Record ID

siris_sil_1025421

Usage

CC0