opinion
‘Red tails’ Shoots Down Racial Stereotypes
“W
e
hope
what
youngsters get out
of the story is that
under some dire circumstances
we prevailed. We performed suc-
cessfully and we opened doors
that they don’t have to fight to.”
Col. Charles McGee, “Red Tails”
technical consultant and surviv-
ing member of the Tuskegee Air-
men
Last week, I attended the New
York premiere of a new George
Lucas film about the heroic
exploits of the all-black fighter
pilot squadron that helped Ameri-
ca defeat the Nazi’s in World War
II. I am not in the business of pro-
moting new movies. But, there are
several reasons that compel me to
highlight the release of “Red
Tails,” the story of the pioneering
Tuskegee Airmen. First, the movie
has a virtually all-black cast with
black male heroes – a rare depic-
tion by Hollywood. Cuba Good-
ing, Jr., Terrence Howard, Nate
Parker, David Oyelowo, and NE-
YO all play key roles. Lucas has
said that the black theme and
t o B e
e quaL
Marc Morial
black cast were major reasons
Hollywood repeatedly declined to
back the film. He struggled 23
years to get major studio financ-
ing. “I showed it to all of them,”
The second reason I am excited
about this film is that recent com-
ments by political candidates den-
igrating the African American
community and reviving outdated
stereotypes, make it more impor-
tant than ever to spotlight the his-
toric contributions and public
service of black Americans.
In just the last few weeks, two
presidential candidates, Rick San-
torum and Newt Gingrich, have
perpetuated false and destructive
racial stereotypes in desperate
Lucas has said that the black theme
and black cast were major reasons
Hollywood repeatedly declined to
back the film
he said, “and they said no, we
don’t know how to market a
movie like this.” He wound up
pouring $58 million of his own
money into the project.
attempts to score political points.
In a discussion of social assistance
programs, Santorum said he does-
n’t want to “make black people’s
lives better by giving them some-
one else’s money.” Santorum’s
appalling comment implied that
people of color are a drain on
resources mainly provided by
whites, even though about 70 per-
cent of food stamp recipients are
white.
Santorum’s statement was fol-
lowed a few days later by a com-
ment from Newt Gingrich that
“African Americans should
demand pay checks not food
stamps.” Gingrich has called
Barack Obama “The best food
stamp president in American his-
tory.” We are outraged by the com-
ments of both candidates and
denounced them in separate state-
ments. The fact is, social safety
net programs serve families in dire
circumstances from all walks of
life. Many of those who now find
themselves in need, whatever their
ethnic background, are the very
people who have paid into these
programs and made sacrifices to
support their families and our
nation throughout their working
lives. Which brings me back to the
Tuskegee Airmen.
In the 1940s, before our armed
forces were integrated, the
Tuskegee Airmen became the first
black aviators in the United States
military. They were trained at
Tuskegee Institute, now Tuskegee
University in Alabama. Despite
discrimination, during World War
II, these brilliant airmen fought
fascism abroad and returned to
fight racism back home.
Lucas teamed with black co-
executive producer, Charles Floyd
Johnson, and black director,
Anthony Hemingway to create a
film they all hope will inspire a
new generation of African Ameri-
can youth. The message of the
movie…the lesson of the
Tuskegee Airmen is clear: We
have the power to overcome any
barrier to serve our nation and
achieve our dreams. One movie
won’t solve the problem, but we
think it’s an important step in the
right direction.
Marc h. Morial is the President
and Ceo of the national urban
league
Arizona takes Another Step Back into the 19th C
U
sing disingenuous sugges-
tions that so-called ethnic
studies programs are divi-
sive, right-wing ideologues seek to
obliterate from our education pro-
grams any discussion of the crimes
associated with the founding of the
United States
What first caught my eye was
that teachers in the Tucson Unified
School District were ordered to
stop using a book in which I have
an essay. The book, Rethinking Columbus,
has been an important source of expanded
understanding of the colonization of the
Western Hemisphere. Challenging many of
the myths surrounding the arrival of Euro-
pean settlers, rethinking Columbus pays
attention to the victims of the hemispheric
invasion that began in the 1500s.
If banning a book was bad enough, it must
be understood in the context of decisions
made in Arizona to ban Mexican American
Studies. These are the sorts of steps being
undertaken by right-wing activists who
have infiltrated school boards around the
country. Their aim is to shut down any com-
prehensive examination of history and the
sciences and, instead, replace them with
myths. Terminating the teaching of Mexi-
can American Studies, particularly in a state
that prior to
1848 was part
of Mexico, is
not only idiotic
from the stand-
point of schol-
arship, but is
insulting to
Bill
Mexicans and
Fletcher Jr.
Mexican
Ameri cans.
Using disin-
genuous suggestions that so-called ethnic
studies programs are divisive, right-wing
ideologues seek to obliterate from our edu-
cation programs any discussion of the
crimes associated with the founding of the
United States, crimes such as slavery, geno-
cide and the annexation of northern Mexico.
Instead they want our children to believe
that North America was destined by God’s
will to be settled and conquered by Euro-
peans. Slavery and genocide in that myth
were collateral damage.
What is at stake is not simply the banning
of certain education programs or the ban-
ning of a book. What is really going on here
is the shutting down of any debate. History
is not the reciting of facts. History always
involves contention between different
analyses or “takes” on a series of events. As
t ranS
a FriCa
such, which facts are included or excluded
from history reflects the basic message that
someone wishes to convey. If you want to
pretend that northern Mexico (currently the
states of Texas, New Mexico, Arizona, Cal-
ifornia, Nevada, Colorado) simply fell into
claims that Mexican Americans/ Chicanos
have in the Southwest that frequently date
back to the 1500s, not to mention the land
that was occupied by significant numbers of
Native Americans.
All of this is to say that history remains
not only important but a
critical site of struggle.
And what is happening to
Chicanos/Mexican Ameri-
cans in Arizona today
could just as easily happen
to African Americans in
any number of states
tomorrow. Think about
this as Black History
Month begins.
Their aim is to shut down any
comprehensive examination of
history and the sciences and,
instead, replace them with myths
the hands of Euro-American settlers, then
little facts, such as that the USA provoked a
war with Mexico in 1846 becomes very
inconvenient. If you want to pretend that
there was no one on this land except, per-
haps, a few Indian tribes, then it also
becomes inconvenient to discuss the land
Bill Fletcher, Jr. is a Senior Scholar with
the institute for Policy Studies, the immedi-
ate past president of transafrica Forum,
and the co-author of Solidarity Divided. he
can be reached at papaq54@hotmail.com.
January 25, 2012 The Portland Skanner Page 5