Tuesday, February 28, 2012

Tuskeegee

I took a long weekend last week and on Friday we went to a Black History Month event featuring the Tuskegee Airmen.
We really enjoyed it. It was, of course, very crowded.  It began with performances by a local dance troupe that works to keep African traditional dancing alive and a choral group.  Then the two airmen who came were introduced:  Julius Jackson and Virgil Poole.  They talked about their experiences. Another pilot, one of the bomber pilots the Tuskegee Airmen protected, was also there, related his experiences, and saluted the Airmen.  You can learn more about the Tuskegee Airmen here.
Given that they were all pilots during WWII and are now in their 90s, I was impressed that they were willing to come out and sign autographs for hours. (Everyone attending received a poster for the new movie "Red Tails" and most had them signed.)
Then area politicians began coming up--this is an election year after all--and making short speeches. There was more on the program but we decided to leave then.

To conclude our holiday, we went to see a matinee of the movie Red Tails and enjoyed it.

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