P1 1WHEREAS, The Tuskegee Airmen is the popular name of the
2very first group of African-American military aviators in the United
3States Armed Forces, and they went on to earn distinction for their
4demonstrated skill as part of the 332nd Fighter Group and the 99th
5Pursuit Squadron of the United States Army Air Corps; and
6WHEREAS, Prior to the Tuskegee Airmen, the United States
7military did not allow African-Americans the opportunity to
8become aviators; and
9WHEREAS, In 1941 Congress forced the Army Air Corps to
10form an African American combat unit, despite the reluctance to
11initiate any form of substantive integration; and
12WHEREAS, In June 1941, the Airmen were transferred to
13Tuskegee, Alabama where they received training before they were
14deemed ready for combat in 1943 and deployed to North Africa
15to join the 33rd fighter group; and
16WHEREAS, In the first battle, the Airmen attacked the island
17of Pantelleria, effectively clearing a path for the Allied forces to
18invade Sicily where the Italian population was forced to surrender;
19and
20WHEREAS, The Tuskegee Airmen broke barriers by working
21under the exceptional leadership of Benjamin O. Davis Jr., the first
P2 1black man to hold the rank of general in the United States Air
2Force; and
3WHEREAS, The arrival of more African American aviators
4strengthened the decisive impact of the Tuskegee Airmen despite
5a scientific report by the University of Texas detailing that African
6Americans were of low intelligence and lacked the competency
7to handle complex situations, such as air combat; and
8WHEREAS, The Tuskegee Airmen earned their place in history
9further by flying over 15,000 combat sorties on 1,578 missions
10during World War II, proving instrumental to the liberation of
11oppressed groups abroad while African Americans still faced their
12own form of oppression in the United States; and
13WHEREAS, After receiving the P-51 Mustang fighters with red
14paint on the tail section of their aircraft, the pilots of the 332nd
15became known as the Red Tails; and
16WHEREAS, After segregation in the military was ended in 1948
17by President Harry S. Truman through Executive Order, the veteran
18Tuskegee Airmen went on to share their knowledge by teaching
19civilian flight to other groups such as the black-owned Columbia
20Air Center in Maryland; and
21WHEREAS, The Tuskegee Airman broke boundaries for their
22brave efforts not only in the Air Force, but for the United States
23more broadly; now, therefore, be it
24Resolved by the Assembly of the State of California, That the
25California State Assembly designates the 4th Thursday in March
26as Tuskegee Airmen Day in California; and be it further
27Resolved, That the Chief Clerk of the Assembly transmit copies
28of this resolution to the author for appropriate distribution.
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