B lack H istory M February 16, 2005 onth Page A3 Black H istory M onth TSlack iTviators TJsher in “New Century been involved in more combat than we actually know. Bullard’s desire to fight from the cockpit would come from the pure excitement o f flying, a de sire to feel the power of aerial com bat and a c h a lle n g e to show o th e rs that the black race can do any th in g w h ite s can do. B ecause o f his success in the sk ies the doors opened all B e ssie over the world Colem an was for other black A m erica's pilots. One of first black these was Bes- w om an pilot. sie C olem an Pilots were pioneers in world at war by R on W eber T he P ortland O bserver In our nation’s history at war, African-Americans stood in long lines and pleaded to fight for the freedom that was reserved for the white population. Often they were turned away from the United States military or assigned low support positions where they were not al lowed to handle a weapon or be near a combat zone. Black Americans fought as far back as the Revolutionary War under hopes of winning their free dom. In the Civil War, they knew that freedom was just around the comer, but a victory by the South would jeopardize that. A frican -A m erican men and women were also proving that a black person could do anything a white could. The more they suc ceeded, especially in prestigious fields like aviation, military combat, politics, education and literature, the more they proved their point. As the fam ed w hite aviator Amelia Earhart was getting her pi lot license in the early part of the 20"’ Century, so was an African-Ameri can woman, Bessie Coleman. Had Coleman not been turned away i n America and forced to go to Europe, she would have been the first woman in the skies. While she worked two jobs to earn enough money to go to France and take up flight instruction, Earhart beat her to the punch. In France, Coleman learned avia tion stunt tricks and eventually performed treacherous feats that F acing d isc rim in a tio n a t h o m e , A frican-A m erican p ilo t B e s s ie C o lem a n p ro v e d h e r aviation sk ills in E urope. Bullard's desire to fight from the cockpit would come from the pure excitement of flying, a desire to feel the power of aerial combat and a challenge to show others that the black race can do anything whites can. Amelia would have never even thought of attempting. Coleman proved beyond a doubt that being black meant nothing in terms of being less than a white person. Another prime example was Eu gene Jacques Bullard, a Georgia- born American fighter pi lot in World War I. Bullard faced the common dis crimination of the day in America. To better his employment opportu nities, he emigrated to England where he worked several jobs and became a champion boxer, fighting al I over Europe and the M iddle East. In 1914, Bullard joined the French Foreign L egion. A fter being injured serio u sly w hile fighting on the front, he fully re covered and volunteered for ser vice in the newly form ed French A viation Corps. As a m em ber of the Sw allow s o f Death regim ent, he becam e know n as the “Black Sw allow o f D eath.” W hile he was accredited with s h o o tin g d o w n tw o e n e m y planes, it is very possible that he actually shot dow n more than that. Before cam eras on planes, a pilot only got credit if som eone saw him dow n another plane. Fighting high in the skies amidst much sm oke, noise, gunfire and much confusion, he may have who became the first black Ameri can woman pilotjust four years after Bullard shot down a German war plane over France. Three decades later, African- American pilots fought for our nation’s freedom during World War II. But first they had to fight for equality. Faced with discrim ination and accusations that they were not intelligent enough to learn how to m aneuver a plane, African A m eri cans had to battle in both houses of C ongress, in governors’ m an sions and the W hite House. Stra tegic com m anders agued against the idea w hile human rights activ ists and black soldiers argued for it. Finally Congress passed three laws betw een 1939 and 1940 that opened some civilian and univer sity flight schools to black pilots, created a black pilots m ilitary re serve, and prohib ited d isc rim in a tion based on race in terms o f pilot induction, selec tion and training. Follow ing the passage of these laws, the 99th Pur suit Squadron be gan o p e ra tio n , which led to the fam ed Tuskegee Training Program. Maxwell Field, Ala bam a would be come theirtraining ground. A frican-Am erican E u g e n e J a c q u e s B ullard s e r v e d a s a p ilo t in th e French A viation Corps. Ron Weber is a regular speaker on African Ameri can history and a frequent contribu tor to the Portland Observer. WELLS FARGO When we're touched by history, it comes alive in all of us. The Next Stage* Wells Fargo honors the past, present and future makers of Black History. C 2005 Wells Fargo Bank. N. A. All rights reserved Member FDIC. W e iIs fa r g O .C O m I