Before the first African American military pilots became known as the "Red Tails" they wore striped tails as they began their flight training in the Army's PT-17 Stearman bi-plane. Their flying adventure started in Tuskegee, Alabama and led them to the skies over Europe to help fight the Axis in WWII. Their story is immortalized in the National Historic Site that bears their nickname, the "Tuskegee Airmen."
In 1881, Booker T. Washington arrived in Alabama and started building Tuskegee Institute both in reputation and literally brick by brick. He recruited the best and the brightest to come and teach here including George Washington Carver who arrived in 1896. Carver’s innovations in agriculture, especially with peanuts, expanded Tuskegee’s standing throughout the country. The story continues….
The National Underground Railroad Network to Freedom The Underground Railroad – the resistance to enslavement through escape and flight through the end of the civil war – refers to the efforts of enslaved African Americans to gain their freedom by escaping bondage.
