B lack H istory M
February 16, 2005
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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.
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