"Red Tails" The Story Of The Tuskegee Airmen

Meeting two of the real Tuskegee Airmen.  Hubby was super excited!  See Terrence and Cuba's pics below.

I was sitting this close to Terrence Howard and Cuba Gooding Jr. at screening in D.C.

The movie "Red Tails" is set to be released on January 20, 2012.  Terrence Howard and Cuba Gooding Jr. are two of the actors portraying two of the airmen from the first African American fighter squad.  This movie is a great look at the history of the role that African American Pilots played in World War II.  In 1939 government schools began to establish flight schools at colleges, and due to rampant racism there was an initial refusal to offer such elite training to African American colleges.  Eventually flight schools were set up at Tuskegee Institute.  The "Tuskegee Airmen" learned their skill,  demonstrated teamwork, banded together through discrimination in their homeland and abroad, excelled at protecting, and became a unique aviation unit in spite of many challenges.  In short, this is the gist of occurrences and why you should consider seeing the movie:

1.  African Americans were told that they weren't as intelligent and didn't score as high as their white counterparts.

Impression:  The Tuskegee Airmen proved them wrong as it was revealed that they had high scores and eventually became one of the most skilled units.

2.   African Americans had to earn their right to fight in the war.  Even though the Tuskegee Airmen had received training, no one wanted to utilize this African American group during the war.

Impression:  Once given a chance to demonstrate their excellent ability to maneuver a plane and ability to protect and serve, other units began to frequently request them.

3.  The Red Tails were different as this fabulous unit painted the tails of their planes red.

Impression:  Uniqueness always tends to stand out, as they branded themselves with a mark of excellence.

The Tuskegee Airmen became the first African American fighter Squad.  This is a great movie that reminds us to 1. Aim high. 2.  Defy the odds.  3.  Prove naysayers wrong.  4.  Utilize all training needed to excel.  5.  Be unique.

There's a great lesson in this true story and in this film!  I know one things for sure, my family and I will be seeing this movie upon arrival.  This will be a great history lesson for family and children.  

For more info. check out http://www.honortheairmen.com
http://www.redtails2012.com/

Also, the encyclopedia has great details at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tuskegee_Airmen

For show times check here http://www.fandango.com/


P.S.  Since this is a natural hair blog, I'm wearing a braidout in pic 1.  (smile)  Enjoy the movie!