The Tuskegee Airmen were African-American pilots during WWII. Before the war, the Army thought African-Americans could only be used as laborers. African-Americans faced all sorts of prejudice and discrimination. When African-Americans were allowed to become pilots during World War II, they proved many critics wrong, with their P-40 Warhawk, and P-51 Mustang fighter planes. They earned the nick-name “Red Tails,” for the distinctive red color painted on the tails of their aircraft. Several Army Air-Corps veterans talk about their experiences in the skies over North Africa.
The Tuskegee Airmen were African-American pilots during WWII. Before the war, the Army thought African-Americans could only be used as laborers. African-Americans faced all sorts of prejudice and discrimination. When African-Americans were allowed to become pilots during World War II, they proved many critics wrong, with their P-40 Warhawk, and P-51 Mustang fighter planes. They earned the nick-name “Red Tails,” for the distinctive red color painted on the tails of their aircraft. Several Army Air-Corps veterans talk about their experiences in the skies over North Africa.
Standards
- 5.3 Demonstrate an understanding of the economic, political, and social effects of World War II, the Holocaust, and their aftermath (i.e., 1930–1950) on the United States and South Carolina.
- 5.3.E Analyze multiple perspectives on the economic, political, and social effects of World War II and its aftermath using primary and secondary sources.
- 5.3.CE Analyze the cause and effect of government-sponsored policies within the United States and Europe related to the status of different groups, to include the Holocaust.
- 5.3.CX Contextualize the technological and geographic influence on military strategies in the Pacific and European theaters of war of World War II.
- 8.5.CO Compare South Carolina and U.S. wartime contributions and demobilization after World War II.
- USHC.4.CC Examine the continuity and changes on the U.S. homefront surrounding World War I and World War II.
Resources
South Carolinians in World War II Learning Activity
This video series contains graphic descriptions of war as experienced by the WWII veterans and others who had direct, first-hand experiences in the conflict. Their accounts are based on events they...
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