P age 12
F ebruary 10, 1993 • T he P ortland O bserver
BLACK HISTORY
B LA C K
In May 1939, Dale L. White and
Chauncey E. Spencer, tw o black
American flying enthusiasts w ith the
backing o f the national A irm e n ’s As­
sociation, attempted a cross country
flig h t from Chicago to Washington,
D C. The goal o f the mission was to
dramatize the quest for w ider involve­
ment for black America in aviation
A m id enormous financial and me­
chanical d ifficulties, Spencer and
W hite did indeed accomplish their
goal Once they finally reached Wash-
ington D C , the men discovered that
there were people w illin g to listen and
take a vested interest in the drive for
black American participation in the
a via tion movement. Spencer and
W hite befriended Edgar Brown, a
prominent member o f the press corps
in Washington, D C. w ho introduced
them to a man who would later do
much in the way o f bringing their
cause to the forefront o f prospective
policy issues. The man Spencer and
W hite met was Senator H arry S.
Truman, o f Missouri.
Upon learning that blacks w ire
not included in the proposed aviation
program soon to be enacted by the
C iv il Aeronautics Authority , Senator
Truman show cd gi eat surprise. When
he became aware that the United States
W IN G S
A flight instructor in the advanced program at Tuskegee briefs primary
instructors before a long-distance training flight. (U.S. Air Force)
Tuskegee Army cadets are pictured at a formal assembly. (William R. Thompson)
ing Act Program, interest in Army A ir
Corps service would fade Fortunately,
it had exactly the opposite effect. As
the number o f black aviators who suc­
cessfully completed the civilian avia­
tion program grew, so too did the
desire for these Americans to become
candidates for cadet fligh t training in
the Arm y A ir Corps and ultimately
commissioned officers and pilots in
m ilitary service. The government tried
to delay serious consideration o f this
issue by keeping it locked in frivolous
debate, but because the threat o f war
was substantially high for America in
1939-40 the answer to the problem ol
a growing pilot shortage had to be
addressed promptly. Black Americans
would have to be given the chance to
serve in the Army A ir Corps as avia-
The first group o f black cadets
Arm y A ir Corps forbade the enlist­
ment o f black Americans, Senator
Trum an’s astonishment sparked a fire
that burned a path a ll the way up to the
Secretary o f Defense and eventually ,
the President o f the United Sates.
Senator Truman decided to direct
his efforts toward promoting black
America’ s drive for inclusion in the
aviation movement in v arious ways. In
addition to lobbying before President
FranklinD . Roosevelt and Secretary o f
Defense Robert H. H inckly, Truman
was able to enlist the Negro press corps
o f Washington, D C ., which proved to
be a powerful tool for spreading aware­
ness and generating interest through­
out the entire political community.
D uring the latter part o f 1939, as
a direct result o f the Spencer and White
cross country flig h t and the lobbying o f
Senator Harry S. Truman, Congress
began to open the door for black Ameri -
can participation in the aviation move­
ment, but only partially. Two laws,
crafted under the separate but equal
principle o f the time were enacted;
thus, enabling blacks to enter civilian
flight training The C ivilian pi lot Train­
ing Act Program authorized certain
civilian colleges and universities to
conduct student pilot training. The
goal o f the program was to build a
tors.
In December 1940, the Arm y A ir
Corps presented its plan for the partici-
pation o f black American volunteers.
Enlisted men and officers would be
employed in a flying squadron, a base
group detachment.weather and com-
munications detachments, and all re-
lated flig h t support services necessary
for establishing a separate A ir C orps
Many policy makers in Washington
D.C. scoffed at the probability o f this
black American A ir corps ever getting
backlog o f competent civilian pilots
who could quickly adapt to m ilitary
training in the even, o f a national
emergency. Six Negro schools were
selected to activ ely participate in the
CPTP.they included: Howard Univer­
sity, Delaware State College, Hampton
Institute, North Carolina A & T , West
V irgin ia
State College, and Tuskegee Insti­
tute Public Law 18, passed along with
the CPTP as the second part o f the
package, d ire c tly addressed the
country’s need for m ilitary aviators It
stated that the United States Govern­
ment would stock and supply civilian
schools by m onitoring and dispatching
the necessary funds to ensure that m ili­
tary standards and regulations were
upheld during student flig h t training
In most cases the m ilitary historically
conducted flight operations under much
stricter laws and regulations than those
which governed civilian flying. Though
it seemed that the door w as opening for
black American aviation interests, out­
side forces continue w orking to keep it
Is Black History Month
All It Should Be?
BY PROFESSOR MCKINLEY BURT
That statement may provoke some
readers to conclude, “ here we go again,
this fellow is always dissatisfied about
something” . You’ve got that right!
Our condition should compel the most
complacent o f us toward a heightened
awareness that we are not “ being all
we can be” .
This week I am recontacting those
schools, public agencies and commu­
nity programs at which I made presen­
tations last year, and I am saying in
effect, “ Yes, I read the media accounts
or scheduling o f your programs for
this year’s Black History M onth” . Or
where there has already been an initia l
presentation, “ There has been much
positive feedback on your activities to
date. But what I really want to say and
in a most respectful way, is that this
meaningful celebration was initiated
by the renowned African American
historian. CarterG Woodson, in 1923-
-however, this is 19931
The point I wish to make is that
our “ Beautiful People” , The Reverend
M artin Luther King, Jr., Malcom X
and Company, gave to the world a
merely cracked, thereby denying black
aviators the opportunity to serve their
country as m ilitary pilots.
The War Department o f the U nited
States hoped that by allowing blacks to
participate in the C ivilian Pilot Train­
glorious model o f what a real social
contract should be about. Wc do not
exclude the courageous contributions
o f our noble black women like Harriet
Tubman, Sojouncr Truth, or Rosa
Parks, they all must be honorcd.indeed,
revered This tradition must be for­
warded into posterity and it shall be,
coming as it docs from an age-old past
where the Greeks said "The Ethiopi­
ans are the most noble o f people. ” But,
then again, who was it that said, “ eter­
nal vigilance is the price o f liberty ”
In several o f my meetings with
groups o f students, teachers and busi­
ness men (including whitcs)--my “ fo­
cus group” --an interesting question
has been raised Several times a point
has been made to the effect that “ Yes,
the world should know about the noble
social and spiritual contributions o f
black men and women through the
ages But equally as well in this mod­
em age, the world should know o f the
magnificent contributions in science
and technology Africans and African
Americans have not been exclusively
about suffering, m arching, being
lynched and being assassinated
I
What these people made very clear
was they had a definite suspicion that
most o f the educational and social
establishment w as quite happy to fund
presentations or programs that would
motiv ate black youth in the long-suf­
fering tradition o f a marty r. But in the
thinking and competitive roles o f ex­
perts in technology and administra­
tion, there often was reluctance and
foot dragging. It was suggested that,
possibly, some individual blacks or
organizations simply took the easiest
route and opted for the “ sure fire”
traditional program route. Yes, we
must be “ vigilan t” -a n d aggressive!
Let me say at this point, there has
never been a better friend and sup­
porter o f presentations regarding the
contributions o f African Americans
to science than the “ U.S. Forest Ser­
vice ” Over the decades and through­
out the three Northwestern states and
Alaska, they have consistently spon­
sored relevant seminars and study
groups (and in the rest o f the country
as well). I never fail to use this “ role
model" in my interface w ith industry,
for Oregon companies are showing an
intense interest in proven methods o f
reaching, and m otivating youths in
science at a time when the educational
establishment is frantically trying to
catch up
I cite these p a rticu la rs as I
recontact those schools and organiza­
tions who would be interested in de­
livering to their students and the pub­
lic well documented presentation s o f
the African American contributions
to science, mathematics and medicine
(take note that it is easier to reach me
at home -284-7080)/ And let me sug­
gest two relevant and highly inform a­
tive books that can be ordered through
the “ Looking Glass Bookstore” on
SW Tay lor, “ Black Pioneers o f Sci­
ence & Invention” by Louis Haber,
Harcourt, Brace and W orld, 1970,
Paper $5 95, cloth $17.95. “ Black
Inv entors o f America” , By M cKinley
Burt, National Book Company, Port­
land OR (current Price on request)
PORTLAND OBSERVER
The Eyes and Ears ol the Community
Office: (503)200-0033
Fax#; (503)200-0015
o ff o f the ground and waited anxiously
to see th e project fail miserably. The
w ill to achieve was strong among those
entering this highly selective program
and black America stood poised, eager
,0 seize the opportunity to serv e and
excel.
America’s first black cadet flying
class was inducted into the Army A ir
Corps’ flying school at Tuskegee Army
A ir Field in Alabama on July 19,1941
and immediately began primary fligh t
training. The government appropri­
ated the funds necessary to construct
the field where cadets would receive
basic and advanced flying training,
combat techniques, and ultimately their
pilot wings and commissions in the
United State Army A ir Corps. The
War Department decided that blacks
serv ing as support personnel would be
trained thoroughly as well, and it as­
signed this training contract toChanute
Field in Illinois.
The students in cadet flying train­
ing classes at Tuskegee Field trained
in the BT-13, PT-13, and AT-6 aircraft
under the same separate but equal
premise that shaped the civilian flying
legislation o f 1939 The actual train ­
ing env ironment, while livin g up to its
separate b illing , was anything but
equal The system had more than its
share o f inherent problems and imper-
factions. But the determination o f the
cadets proved to be unyielding as the
firstclasshaditswingpinnedonMarch
7 1942 Once the first class had gradu-
ated. succeeding classes were pinning
on wings at 4 1/2 week interv als. Upon
completion o f the rigorous program,
t|ic A ir Corps' newest pilots joined the
99th Fighter Squadron, and looked
ahead to the day when the Arm y A ir
Corps u ou |d can tte m t0 sene their
country at the height o f the Second
W orld War
After establishing the program
for training black aviators, the A ir
Corps failed to consider how or where
(|1C new pilots would serve, since the
overall success o f the program was not
expected But as the war effort contin-
ucd to grow , plans for the utilization o f
the 99th and its support personnel
made expansion inevitable. The 99th
Fighter Squadron grew to become the
332d Fighter Group. Finally, it was
determined that the skills o f the fliers
could no longer lie dormant in the
A llied effort to defeat the Axis Powers.
The 332d Fighter Group, composed o f
its brave Tuskegee Airmen, was called
across the ‘ pond’’, commonly known
as the Atlantic Ocean, to fight and
serve in Northern Europe.
FEBRU ARY IS
BLACK HISTORY
M ONTH
CALL 2 0 0 -0 0 3 3 o r F A X 2 0 8 - 0 0 ,5 TO
ADVERTISE OR RESERVE YOUR SPACE
Stage Performance Of
Malcolm X Speech
Highlights Black History
Month At PCC
“ The Ballot or the Bullet,” one o f
M alcolm X ’s most famous speeches,
w ill be recreated in a one-hour presen­
tation at the end o f February to high­
ligh t Portland Community College's
month-long Black History Month cel­
ebrations. Admission is free and the
event is open to the public
Two performances arc scheduled:
Friday, Feb. 26 at noon in the Rock
Creek Campus Forum, Building 3,
17705 N.W. Springville Road, and
Saturday evening, Feb. 27, 7 p m in
the Cascade Campus Auditorium , 705
N. Killingsw orth Reception follow >
the Cascade Campus performance in
the Cascade cafeteria.
Michael Lange, an Oakland, Ca­
l i f -based actor, director and play­
wright, portrays the black nationalist
leader who first rose to prominence as
a force in the Black M uslim move­
ment in America.
The speech was seen as a depar­
ture for M alcolm X. once called the
angriest man in America, because it
calls for harmony and unity. The
speech was delivered in 1964, and
early in 1965 Malcolm X was assassi­
nated in a Harlem auditorium, alleg­
edly due to differences w ith the Black
M uslim s.
After the performance, a discus­
sion o f Malcolm X ’s life and work w ill
be led by political activist Kwame
Som buru, also fro m O a klan d.
Somburu joined Malcolm X ’ s move­
ment. thcOrganizationof Afro-Ameri­
can Unity, when it was founded in
19t>4 He was also present when the
assassination occurred.
Lange said, " The Ballot or The
B u lle t' speech represents one o f M al­
colm X s most prolific scries o f mes­
sages to African Americans. ... His
views should not be taken lightly. He
urged us to take political and eco-
" o l o f our communities.
V\c must finish the race he was run­
ning "
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