During a time when segregation was the societal standard, racism was widely practiced, and Black Americans were widely discriminated against, the United States was in the shadow of Pearl Harbor and on the brink of World War Two. At the same time, the U.S. was ranked the 16th largest military in the world and desperately needed pilots.
Due to the uncertainty of another world war coupled with a lack of military manpower, in 1939 the U.S. government created the Civilian Pilot Training Program. This federally-funded and segregated program allowed Black Americans to train on combat aircraft and learn how to fly in case of another war.
These black American pilots would go on to become the Tuskegee Airmen, who against all odds proved that black Americans in all aspects had the same mental and intellectual capacities as white Americans
In this video, we're going to take a look at a group of incredible men who broke down barriers and shattered stereotypes during one of the most tumultuous times in American history.