Many of us have come to understand more and more about the significant contributions of the 332nd fighter and 447th bombardment groups better known as the Tuskegee Airmen. The new post-modern appreciation resembles that of a similar trend with Negro League Baseball back in the nineties but this is a subject of a more serious nature because lives were being put on the line.
Star Wars master George Lucas recalls that the long, hard road to climatically celebrate the Tuskegee Airmen was 23 years in the making telling Jimmy Fallon in a recent interview. Lucas stated that he was quite sure that the reason being for having such difficulty finding the cash to produce the project was due to the composition of the cast…nuff said.
After overcoming all of the classic racial barriers of a Jim Crow south, these black pilots statistically proved that they were more than worthy to man aircraft in a wartime situation; yet not worthy of the honor and respect that a veteran deserves.
Fortunately Lucas recognized this and had the artistic vision and foresight to tell their story. We often define “black film” by those who make it and its target market audience. In the case of Red Tails, the story alone makes this a film to transcend all movie markets. Check out the link to the trailer below and please support this important film.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6YjUUT7G55c
Starring Cuba Gooding and Terrance Howard
One of the original Tuskegee Airmen units
