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Black History Month Day 9 – Red Tails

Red Tails

 

Black excellence is as old as man. Even with all the horrors that slavery and white supremacy has brought, the achievements and talents of Black people haven’t been stifled.

During World War II, the military was still segregated. This led to a group of Black airmen known as the Tuskegee Airmen. The name was taken from the fact that the pilots were trained at Tuskegee University.

The Tuskegee Airmen were credited with numerous accomplishments, including their notorious no-loss myth. It was claimed that the Airmen never lost a bomber they escorted to enemy fire. The claim is disputed, but the Airmen have to have been impressive for the claim to even have taken flight (pun intended).

Red Tails, named after the custom of the Airmen painting the tails of their planes red, is about fictionalized members of the Tuskegee Airmen. Red Tails won NAACP Image Awards in both the categories of Outstanding Motion Picture and Outstanding Independent Motion Picture. It is available here.

James

Film and TV nerd. Sci-fi lover. Writer.