Air Force Cancels Then Uncancels Training About Tuskegee Airmen & WASPs

[Charles Fout]

Wow! Disappointing to say the least.

something else that should be rethought.

In the Navy we had the Golden Thirteen.

Somewhat connected: I am now a huge fan of "Black History Month." I now think of it as " Hidden History Month." I now aspire to educate myself a little more each year. It's so much more than just the Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King and the Atlantic Slave Trade. Last year I delved into the disagreements between W. E. B. Dubois and Booker T. Washington regarding education and training. By the way W. E. B Dubois. Advocated for Liberal Arts education because he believed it could help develop a class of Black leaders. The Year before  I became enamored with Omar ibn Said. This summer I will be taking courses regarding the Harlem Renaissance so next month I hope to begin some early reading on the subject.

[Ares]

In other news, Tuskegee University is currently launching a new bachelor's in aviation science program including pilot training, on campus.

Do they have an airport on campus? Very few schools do.

---

The films about the Tuskegee Airmen were not well received so I would say the market is not interested and in the WWII historical community they are only mentioned in the actual scope of their contribution no more no less. It is a disservice to all the more effective air units never discussed. I bet almost no one here has heard of 56th Fighter Group? Now why is that? The most decorated US Fighter unit of WWII and...

..."crickets".

Warner Brothers made a movie based on the 56th called Fighter Squadron…

In 1948.

[NotJoeBiden]

Yes. Golden age of Cinema.

[Ares]

A 1948 movie vs.

The Tuskegee Airmen (1995), an HBO film starring Laurence Fishburne, Cuba Gooding Jr., and John Lithgow.
Red Tails (2012), a $58 million dollar feature film about the Tuskegee Airmen starring Terrence Howard, Cuba Gooding Jr. and produced by George Lucas.
Masters of the Air (2023), a $250 million dollar nine-episode Apple TV mini-series featuring the Tuskegee Airmen and produced by Tom Hanks, and Steven Spielberg.

...sounds about equal to me.

For the record I have seen all three. The Tuskegee Airmen (1995) was forgettable, Red Tails (2012) was one of the worst WWII movies ever made and Masters of the Air (2023) was a masterpiece and properly represented the Tuskegee Airmen but their story had no business being in that mini-series which is based on a book of the same name of the 100th bomber group. Guess what? the Tuskegee Airmen NEVER supported that 100th bomber group. It is like peak Hollywood DEI. So you know who got screwed? The actual WWII Fighter units who did.

[Jonathan Whatley]

In the 1940s and some time thereafter, a big-budget feature film about the Tuskegee Airmen was unlikely to be made. By the 1990s to today, studios and filmmakers sought out novel, previously under-explored angles to World War II films. The Tuskegee Airmen offered one such angle. Meanwhile, "USAF unit is highly effective and becomes the most decorated unit" was no longer as effective a film pitch as it was in the 1940s.

[Ares]

Not buying it.

[Jonathan Whatley]

Whatever its shortcomings as a film, Red Tails has an interesting provenance as a personal passion project for George Lucas.

George Lucas had been developing the project on and off since 1988. One of the most successful directors in history saw a compelling story in the Tuskegee Airmen.

But he reported that studios balked at his proposed all-Black main cast, so he went off on his own and self-financed production and distribution, which he could certainly afford to do. It appears he may even have self-financed entirely: It appears Lucasfilm is the only credited production company, George Lucas the only credited Executive Producer, the only credited Producers are real working producers not investor producers, and there are no Co-Producers, Co-Executive Producers, etc., titles often given to investor producers.

Lucas hired writers and a director but had a highly direct hand in the production, even directing some reshoots himself. It was shot in 2009, with reshooting in 2010 and post-production into 2011 and release in January 2012.

George Lucas was 67 years old. Later in 2012, he sold Lucasfilm to Disney.

In 2013 Lucas married his longtime partner, investment manager Mellody Hobson, a Black woman. The same year they welcomed a daughter, Everest Lucas, via surrogacy.

Red Tails appears to have been the last live-action feature George Lucas had a highly direct role in making.

[NotJoeBiden]

Not buying it.

Well lucky for you, the US Air Force will stop teaching the Tuskegee Airmen. Congrats.

Hopefully this brings down the cost of eggs, too.

[Jonathan Whatley]

The Air Force said Sunday that videos about the famed Tuskegee Airmen and a unit of pioneering female aviators would be restored to the basic training curriculum for new recruits beginning Monday. […]

On Sunday, an Air Force official said the memo [ordering the videos removed] was not an official statement of policy, but rather one person's “interpretation” of a directive to vet basic training courses for inappropriate DEI references.

After uproar, Air Force says recruits will again be taught about Tuskegee Airmen: The head of the service's San Antonio-based training command said a video about the famed Black aviators would remain in the Air Force basic training curriculum. The course had been shut down in response to President Trump's DEI ban (Sig Christenson, San Antonio Express-News, updated January 26, 2025)

So welcome inefficiency, ambiguity, and chilling effects as every part of the federal government tries to figure out which things are related to diversity, equity, and inclusion yet permissible and which are impermissible.