Tuskegee Airman AnalysisText Based QuestionsDirections: For the following questions, choose the best answer or respond in complete sentences.1. Which of the following best describes the central idea of the article?A. The Tuskegee Airmen started the Civil Rights Movement by proving that black pilots are more skilledthan white pilots.B.The Tuskegee Airmen proved that black and white pilots had the same potential, which helped breakracial barriers.C. Despite breaking racial barriers, the Tuskegee Airmen faced racial discrimination and were neverrecognized for their military success.D. Black pilots in the military had to work twice as hard as white pilots, and due to a lack of funds theywere underprepared.Please begin by watching theIntroduction to the Tuskegee Airmenvideo by Ms. Stoner.Tuskegee AirmenBy Jessica McBirney(1)When most people think of the Civil Rights Movement and the end of legalized segregation in theU.S., they think of the 1960s. However, the movement did not start then, and it was not confined to thestreets and diners in the South. One of the earliest successes for racial equality actually occurred in the1940s in the U.S. military, thanks to the hard work of a group known as the Tuskegee Airmen.Tuskegee Airmen: an Early Civil Rights Success(2)The Tuskegee Airmen were a group of African American fighter pilots and bomber pilots, includingtheir support crew, who trained at the Tuskegee Air Fields in Alabama during World War II. They becamethe 332nd Fighter Group and the 477th Bombardment Group in the U.S. Army Air Forces at the height ofthe war, and their missions were some of the most successful in the American military.(3)During World War I, several decades earlier, African Americans were denied the ability to becomefighter pilots and help the war effort. This sparked a growing controversy in the African Americancommunity. In April of 1939, after a 20-year battle, Congress finally allocated funds to set up a specialdivision to train African American pilots to fly fighter planes.(4)Most people were highly skeptical of the new unit. Racism was still very present in and out of themilitary, and many Army officials did not believe African Americans had the skills or the intelligence tolearn everything a pilot needs to know.Training for Battle(5)Over 400 African Americans enlisted to be in the new division. The entrance requirements were verystrict, including high experience requirements and a series of IQ and other intelligence tests. Because ofdiscriminatory policies in the Army, all the officers in charge of the new recruits were white.(6)The practical training took place at the Tuskegee Air Fields in Alabama, and the trainees also tookcourses at Tuskegee University nearby. They quickly proved their personal drive to learn and their skillsas pilots. Their proficiency struck blows at previous race-based policies in the military; they soon neededto undergo highly advanced training that African Americans had previously been barred from receiving.
