The Tuskegee Airmans Plaza is located at Tuskegee University. It was erected in 1987 by the University.&nbsp;The plaza is dedicated to &nbsp;the memory of Americas first Black pilots including General Daniel "Chappie" James and their courageous feats in air and on land. The Tuskegee Airman were the first Black aviators in the American military during World War II. It started as an experiment by the military to see if African-Americans could be trained to fly combat aircraft.&nbsp;Many Black Americans were still subject to the Jim Crow laws and the military was still racially segregated. The Airman were subject to many forms of harassment and racial discrimination. The military chose the&nbsp;Tuskegee Institute to train airmen for its commitment to aeronautical training.&nbsp;All Black pilots during this time were trained at Moton Airfield and the Tuskegee Army Airfield located near Tuskegee, Alabama. In all, 992 airman were trained in Tuskegee from 1940 to 1946. They overcame prejudice and segregation to become one of the most respected fighter groups of World War II. They proved they possessed the&nbsp;intelligence and sophistication necessary to operate and maintain complicated combat aircraft.&nbsp;

A group of Tuskegee Airmen poses for a photo.

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This plaza commemorates the Tuskegee Airmen who were trained at Moton Field and fought in World War II. It is located next on the Tuskegee University campus next to the Chappie James Arena and features a fighter jet on display. The memorial also honors the men and women who worked as mechanics, instructors, and other support staff. 

Tuskegee Airmen's Plaza

This driving tour begins at the Butler Chapel AME Zion Church, visits several of Tuskegee's museums and monuments, and ends at The Tuskegee Veterans Administration Hospital. This driving tour is a total of 5 miles.

Landmarks of African American History in Tuskegee 

After being disenfranchised by the white majority of
Alabama, African Americans were fed up with their treatment and decided to seek
change. However, their change was much different than the way change and revolution
had been sought in the past. Instead of attacking their adversaries with guns
in their hands and hatred in their hearts, like so many of us are accustomed
to, the African Americans who wanted change met peacefully at Butler Chapel
African Methodist Episcopal (AME) Zion Church on June 25, 1957. This meeting
spurred a series of meetings that eventually gave way to grass roots political
activism that became known as the Crusade for Citizenship.

&nbsp;

Reverend Kenneth L. Bufurd, pastor of Butler Chapel AME Zion
Church, was the unofficial leader of the movement. He and other clergy urged
their congregations and fellow African Americans to boycott white businesses
and protest the political leaders who had kicked them to the curb. Upon hearing
of the movement, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., sent a letter of encouragement to
the leaders and participants of the protests, as well as a donation to the
Crusade for Citizenship. The movement was undeniably picking up steam and was
heading towards re-adoption of the once discarded African Americans. 

&nbsp;

Although the NAACP was not directly involved with this
movement, the movement nonetheless made its most ground in true Thurgood
Marshall fashion by taking what they thought was unjust laws to court.
Eventually, the protestors prevailed and the gerrymandering disenfranchisement
of African Americans was put to rest. As the marker states, by the mid 1960’s
Macon County Georgia was made up of a predominantly Black electorate, which had
elected Black officials. Included on this list Black elected officials was the
leader of the Crusade for Citizenship, Reverend Kenneth L. Bufurd. The crusade
was a success. 

&nbsp;

The Butler Chapel AME Zion Church was added to the Alabama
Register of Landmarks and Heritage in 1985. The Butler Chapel was then added to
the National Register of Historic Places in 1995. The Alabama Historical
Commission erected this marker in 2009 to honor those who participated in the
events.&nbsp;

For hundreds of years we, Americans, have lived under the passionate words penned by Thomas Jefferson in the 1770’s, “all men are created equal”, but we have not always lived them out. In fact, almost two hundred years after the third President penned those words of equality, white southerners were still disenfranchising African Americans in the south. This marker honors a group of African Americans who gathered at Butler Chapel AME Zion Church in the 1950’s to stand up to injustice. The injustice was disallowing African Americans to vote through gerrymandering and other political back channeling, all of which were later found to be violations of the 15th Amendment. 

Butler Chapel AME Zion Church

Abbott Memorial Alumni Stadium opened in 1925. Before the facility was named after Cleve L Abbott, who became the head football coach in 1913, it was called the Alumni Bowl because of the monetary contributions made by former graduates of the school which was founded by Booker T. Washington. The first football game played at the stadium was between Tuskegee University and Atlanta University on October 10, 1925. The Golden Tigers defeated the Golden Hurricanes of Atlanta university, 20-0. The contest also set the stage for the formal dedication of new $50,000 stadium. The stadium is also home to the university's track and field programs. Seventy-one would pass before University officials decided to rename the stadium Cleve L. Abbott Memorial Alumni Stadium. Abbott, the most successful coach in the 106-year history of Tuskegee football, served as the head coach from 1924-1954. Abbott led the program to 95 wins in his 32 year coaching career. Tuskegee has produced several professional football players. Several renovations and additions have taken place at the stadium since 1989. in 1989 an athletic fieldhouse was constructed at the southend of the stadium which was donated by a construction company located in the City of Tuskegee. Other additions have been made to the stadium as well. The school's athletic program received a donation from Marable a general contractor, and key contributor to the school's athletic program, reconstructed the press box. The most recent renovation took place in 1991 with the installation of new aluminum seats, a Pepsi sponsored scoreboard and 600 stadium style crimson and gold reserved seats. The seating capacity of Cleve L. Abbott Memorial Alumni Stadium is 10,000. The stadium is also home to the "Shed". The Shed is a covered student section on the home team sideline where fans and the band come together to "Ball n Parlay". It is one of the best student sections in all of college football.

Cleve L. Abbott Memorial Alumni Stadium (formerly called the Alumni Bowl) is located on the campus of Tuskeegee University, one of the oldest Historically Black Colleges and Universities in the nation. The stadium was the first of its kind to be built at any Black College in the south and opened in 1925. It was named Alumni Bowl because of the significant contributions made by alumni for the construction of the facility. It is home to the University's Football Program, which participates in the Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SIAC). Tuskegee's athletic programs, The Golden Tigers, participate in NCAA Division II. The stadium is named after former Tuskegee Tigers head football coach, Cleve L Abbott.

Cleve L Abbott Memorial Stadium Tuskegee University

Near the entrance of the museum is a recording of Carver reading one of his favorite poems, <a target="_blank" rel="nofollow" href="http://www.tuskegee.edu/about_us/legacy_of_fame/george_w_carver/carvers_favorite_poem.aspx">“Equipment”;</a> Carver had a very distinct voice that complements his somewhat quirky and lovable image but may come with a <a target="_blank" rel="nofollow" href="http://iowapublicradio.org/post/voice-george-washington-carver#stream/0" title="Link: http://iowapublicradio.org/post/voice-george-washington-carver#stream/0">more unsavory and even sinister explanation</a>. In addition to being a scientist, Carver was an artist. &nbsp;Almost all of his paintings were destroyed in a fire, but <a target="_blank" rel="nofollow" href="http://www.nps.gov/museum/exhibits/tuskegee/lgimage/gwc15.htm" title="Link: http://www.nps.gov/museum/exhibits/tuskegee/lgimage/gwc15.htm">one painting</a> that was recovered is on display in the museum as a testament to Carver’s diverse talents. Also on display in the museum are many of Carver’s <a target="_blank" rel="nofollow" href="http://www.nps.gov/museum/exhibits/tuskegee/gwcresearch.htm">tools</a>, <a target="_blank" rel="nofollow" href="http://www.nps.gov/museum/exhibits/tuskegee/lgimage/gwc12.htm" title="Link: http://www.nps.gov/museum/exhibits/tuskegee/lgimage/gwc12.htm">preserved specimens</a>, and <a target="_blank" rel="nofollow" href="http://www.nps.gov/museum/exhibits/tuskegee/gwcteach.htm">photographs</a>, including his <a target="_blank" rel="nofollow" href="http://www.nps.gov/museum/exhibits/tuskegee/gwcjars2.htm" title="Link: http://www.nps.gov/museum/exhibits/tuskegee/gwcjars2.htm">experiments with the soybean, the sweet potato, and of course, the peanut</a>.
 &nbsp;Part of Carver’s intention with these experiments and discoveries was 
to harness ways for farmers to get the most from their crops. Carver implemented distance learning before the Internet and television.&nbsp;He designed the <a target="_blank" rel="nofollow" href="http://www.nps.gov/museum/exhibits/tuskegee/gwcwagon.htm">Jesup Wagon</a>,
 which he would load up with seeds, livestock, plants, tools, and other 
products of his work and drive out into the community to teach farmers 
about new, more effective agricultural strategies. &nbsp;He shared with them 
the value they could get from rotating their crops and from growing 
versatile crops like soybeans, sweet potatoes, and peanuts.

The George Washington Carver Museum is on the campus of Tuskegee University and is owned and operated by the National Parks Service.  It is part of the Tuskegee Institute National Historic Site along with Booker T. Washington's Home, "The Oaks".  The museum is housed in the university's former laundry facility and has been a museum honoring Carver since 1941.

George Washington Carver Museum

Sculpted by artist Charles Keck, the statue portrays Booker T Washington lifting a veil of ignorance from a frightened slave, who is crouched on a plow and anvil depicting tools of agriculture and holding a book, which represents education. Washington sought to bring a better life to his people through education.&nbsp; Among many of the inscriptions on the monument and the surrounding structures is this one:&nbsp; "He lifted the veil of ignorance from his people and pointed the way to progress through education and industry" Booker T. Washington was a former slave who became one of the most influential African-Americans of his generation. He was an author, political leader, teacher, and speaker. Washington was determined to secure an&nbsp;education and to teach others. He had clear ideas on how to improve the lives of African-Americans. He believed in accommodating and promoting self-help and manual skills (rather than studying liberal arts), believing they would be less threatening to the white community.&nbsp;

Lifting the Veil of Ignorance Monument is located at Tuskegee University in Tuskegee Alabama and was presented and dedicated on April 15, 1922. It is a tribute to Booker T. Washington who founded Tuskegee University. Over 100,000 people were in attendance during its unveiling to pay tribute to him. 

Lifting the Veil of Ignorance

In 1881, Booker T. Washington arrived in Alabama to teach in a one-room shanty, near Butler Chapel AME Zion Church. Thirty adults represented his first class. Washington successfully raised funds and lobbied for funds to increase and improve the school. He also recruited the best faculty, including George Washington Carver, who arrived in 1896. Tuskegee became a University in 1985 and has since begun offering its first doctoral programs in integrative biosciences and material science and engineering. It also has the only Aerospace Engineering department at a HBCU (historically Black college and university). The university is a National Historic Landmark.&nbsp;

Completed in 1910, White Hall served as Tuskegee's dormitory for women for generations. The building is named in honor of Alexander Moss White and features a clock tower that was added three years after the building was completed. The clock in the tower had a manual winding system until it was refurbished and connected to electricity in 1951. Tuskegee was founded as a one-room school and now enrolls over 3,000 students

White Hall, Tuskegee University

Tuskegee University, a private historically Black University was established in 1881 and is now a National Historic Landmark. This building is named of Frederick Douglass, who fled his former master Frederick Bailey on September 3, 1838. Douglass joined the abolitionist movement and under the tutelage of William Lloyd Garrison, he became a leading voice of the movement. Garrison came to resent Douglass' fame after the publication of Douglass's autobiography&nbsp;Narrative of the Life of Frederick&nbsp;Douglass, an American Slave&nbsp;in 1845. The book offers a description of the brutal reality of Douglass's life as a slave in Maryland and led to Douglass becoming one of the leading speakers at meetings of anti-slavery societies.&nbsp;&nbsp; Douglass's escape was made possible by a sailor who trusted Frederick Douglass gave him his papers so that Douglass could convince authorities that he was a free man. Bouncing from boat to train, train to boat, Douglass made it far enough north that he could stop running and begin a new life.&nbsp;After the Civil War, Douglass became one of the most influential Black leaders and called for equal political and educational opportunities.&nbsp;

The original Frederick Douglass Hall was completed in 1904 and named in honor of Frederick Douglass, a former slave who became one of the most influential Americans of the 19th century. Douglass Hall served as a dormitory and an auditorium for three decades until it was destroyed by a fire in 1934. This building serves as a dormitory and was constructed to match the appearance of the original structure. 

Frederick Douglass Hall, Tuskegee University

On the lower floor of the museum, rotating exhibitions are on display. Those exhibits are constantly changing. The upper floor of the museum houses the museum’s permanent exhibits tied to the history of the building as the former John A. Andrew and then John A. Kennedy Memorial Hospital and the current National Center for Research in Bioethics and Health Care. One side houses the exhibit on Henrietta Lacks and HeLa cells, and the other side features the infamous Tuskegee syphilis study.

The Tuskegee University Legacy Museum opened in 2009 and was created to honor the 599 Black men who participated in a study of untreated syphilis conducted by the United States Public Health Services from 1932 to 1972. The museum is nearly 9,000 square feet and consists of two floors. It appreciates donations of $3 but is free and open to the public and has t-shirts, brochures, posters and other Legacy Museum items for sale. 

Tuskegee University Legacy Museum

Today's Tuskegee VA Hospital dates back to the post World War I period and was constructed under the leadership of Robert Moton who became the second president of Tuskegee University after its founder, Booker&nbsp;T. Washington, passed away. The hospital's creation was largely the result of Southern Black veterans who demonstrated against their exclusion from the white-only hospitals and homes established&nbsp;for veterans. Also significant was the efforts of Black&nbsp;physicians and organizations such as the National&nbsp;Medical Association&nbsp;(created as a response to the exclusion or discrimination Black doctors faces within&nbsp;the American Medical Association) to advocate on behalf of the hiring of Black nurses and physicians.&nbsp;Despite threats and a demonstration by the Ku Klux Klan, the Veterans Bureau appointed Joseph War to lead the new medical complex. As a result, the new facility employed many Black nurses and physicians when it opened with six hundred beds. In addition, many of the physicians such as Dr. Solomon Carter Fuller trained other Black physicians at this hospital.&nbsp;&nbsp;Taliaferro Clark served as the director of the Tuskegee Veterans Hospital from 1936 to 1946 and is the figure most often connected to one of the most infamous medical studies by the U.S. Public Health Care Service. The study was officially called the “Tuskegee Study of Untreated Syphilis in the Negro Male” and took place at area clinics. From 1932 until 1972, the federal government paid for researchers to document the course of syphilis at rural health&nbsp;care facilities near Tuskegee. The experiments did not happen at this hospital, but because some physicians and nurses affiliated with the nearby Tuskegee&nbsp;Institute participated, it is likely that some of the staff of this hospital were also aware of what was happening.&nbsp;&nbsp;The effects of syphilis were rough and men suffered from fever, weight loss, paralysis, blindness, death and etc. Researchers would even try to negotiate with the men by promising them treatment for their “bad blood.” However, even after a cure for syphilis&nbsp;was found after World War II, researchers lied and about their patients' disease and withheld treatment from them so that they could continue to chart the course of the disease. Many men died as a result, and after the experiment was exposed, physicians at the Tuskegee VA cared for some of the men that had been part of the experiment.&nbsp;Tragically, Taliaferro Clark's decision to agree to the experiment being conducted at Tuskegee University was predicated on it being only a six to nine-month study with treatment for all subjects at the end of that period. However, believing that both their research and the funding they received would produce a greater good, some of the physicians and administrators at the university allowed the experiment to continue even after a cure had been found for the disease.&nbsp;By 1973, this hospital had grown to include over 2300 beds and was later merged with the VA Medical Center in Montgomery.&nbsp;

This hospital and medical center that opened in 1923 as the "Tuskegee Home" and cared for injured Black veterans of the first World War. The hospital became the first institution in the Veterans Administration medical system to employ an all African American medical staff and was incorporated into the VA system when that federal agency was created in 1930. The Tuskegee Home provided care for hundreds of thousands of Black veterans during the Jim Crow era. Today, the hospital is part of a large medical complex that serves as a regional VA center within the Central Alabama Veterans Health Care System. The original hospital was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 2012. 

The Tuskegee Veterans Administration Hospital

Before 1940, African Americans were barred from flying
for the U.S. military. However, Civil rights organization and the Black
press challenged the government to expand
the role of African American in the military.
This resulted in the formation of Tuskegee Airmen. 

Army Air Corp selected the Tuskegee Institute- a small Black college in
Alabama to host the “military experiment” the train the first African American
pilots and support staff. The pilots would fly fighters and bombers. The airmen became known “Red
Tails” because of the red painted on the tails of the P-47 and later P-51 fighter planes they flew.&nbsp;In May, 1940, the&nbsp;first
students successfully completed the training program, prompting its expansion.&nbsp;By 1946,&nbsp;the program would train over 900 pilots.&nbsp;

For their achievements during the war and the struggles of&nbsp;racism&nbsp;they faced at home during and after the war, the Tuskegee Airmen were awarded the
Congressional Gold Medal by President George W. Bush in 2007.&nbsp;

Located at Moton Field in Tuskegee, Alabama, Tuskegee Airmen National Historic Site commemorates the contributions of African American pilots, known as Tuskegee Airmen, who trained at the base beginning in 1941 and fought in World War II. The National Park Service established the site on November 6, 1988 to showcase the Tuskegee Airmen's history and the achievements. The site preserves the airfield and two historic hangars (and some other buildings) at Moton Field. The museum is located in the hangars. Exhibits feature videos, photographs, training aircraft, and a replica "Red Tail" P-51 Mustang. The Tuskegee Airmen were among the best and most decorated pilots in the war. It should be noted the airmen included not just the pilots but all the support staff as well, including clerical workers and mechanics.

Landmarks of African American History in Tuskegee

Tuskegee Airmen's Plaza

Introduction

Images

Backstory and Context

Sources

Additional Information