20-03-2025
Florida Becomes Latest State To Name Tuskegee Airman Day, March 27th, As Official State Holiday
FILE - Tuskegee airman Charles McGee and his great grandson Iain Lanphier react as President Donald ... [+] Trump delivers his State of the Union address to a joint session of Congress on Capitol Hill in Washington, Tuesday, Feb. 4, 2020. McGee, one of the last surviving Tuskegee Airmen who flew 409 fighter combat missions over three wars, died Sunday, Jan. 16, 2022. He was 102. (AP Photo/Patrick Semansky, File)
Is it time for the United States to create a new federal holiday to recognize the Tuskegee Airmen?
It may be, as Florida becomes the latest state to deem Tuskegee Airman Day a state holiday.
On March 27, 2025, in Orlando, Florida, a ceremony will honor America's most recognizable World War II fighter squadron with its very own state holiday: Tuskegee Airmen Commemoration Day.
While so much history is being scrubbed from federal government websites under the directive of President Trump's push to eliminate DEI from federal agencies through executive orders, in some cases the Tuskegee Airmen became a casualty.
Prior to this, in March 2024, both houses of the Florida State Legislature passed their own versions of a bill to highlight these American heroes. From there, a singular version of the bill, House Bill 1227 (2024), was voted on and advanced to the governor's desk, to get signed into law. On April 11, 2024, Florida Governor Ron Desantis signed HB 1227 into law.
The new law designates the fourth Thursday in March as Tuskegee Airmen Commemoration Day, paving the way for the first celebration to take place in 2025.
'The unanimous passing of the bill, both the Florida House and the Florida Senate Democrats, Republicans,' said Sylvester Terry with the Central Florida Tuskegee Airmen, 'that is unification. It chokes me up thinking about it for the sake of something that is right. It is not about their idea or your idea. It's not a left versus a right, not conservative. It's American (heroes) that deserve to be commended for their actions regardless of their race."
Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer, R, center, stands with, from right, surviving Tuskegee Airmen and Army Air ... [+] Corpsmen; Maj. (Ret) George W. Biggs, Mechanic Ralph B. Stewart, U.S. Air Force Lt. Col.(Ret) Asa Herring, U.S. Air Force Lt. Col.(Ret) Robert Ashby, Rudolph K. Silas and Howard A . Williams Jr., Thursday, Sept. 26, 2013 at the Capitol in Phoenix. Brewer declared the fourth Thursday of March annually as Tuskegee Airmen Commemoration Day. Arizona is home to six surviving original airmen. (AP Photo/Matt York)
The Tuskegee Airmen were the first Black pilots in the U.S. military, who got their name from their training facility in Tuskegee, Alabama. The Airmen consisted of 15,000 men and women in total, of which approximately 1,000 were pilots. Serving in combat for the U.S. Army Air Forces during WWII, their successes led to the U.S. Air Force being the first service branch of the government to be integrated—a process they initiated even before President Truman signed Executive Order 9981 in 1948, which desegregated the military.
Before the Tuskegee Airmen, no Black American had been a U.S. military pilot. The 'separate but equal' treatment at the time used as justification for blocking previous attempts by Black soldiers to become pilots.
They'd become known as the 'Red Tails,' for the bright red color painted on their airplanes. During their time in combat, due to the segregation protocols, the Airmen had to operate a 100% segregated unit, unable to access tools, supplies, aircraft or equipment used by any white soldiers. By necessity, they'd become self-sufficient.
When all was said and done, the Airmen proved through their performance that they were not merely equal but perhaps even superior to their white pilot counterparts—a radical thought at the time, and maybe even still today.
Looking beyond the headline of the bill and the holiday, the description of the Tuskegee Airmen and their service honors them as they deserve. In some ways, this attention to detail has been lost due to the tone of the recent narrative that has swept the country.
Below is an excerpt of the language included in the bill, which reads as follows:
'Before World War II, African Americans had very limited roles in the defense of the United States and none in military aviation, and when the nation was drawn into the war, African Americans aspired to more meaningful jobs in the military, including flying and maintaining aircraft.
And as the rapid expansion of aircraft production during the war created a greater need for military pilots, public outcry from civil rights groups and black professional organizations exhorted the United States War Department to begin training black pilots in the Army Air Corps.
The 99th Fighter Pursuit Squadron, the first black flying squadron, trained at Dale Mabry Field near Tallahassee to prepare for combat overseas, and the Eglin Field ranges in Okaloosa County were used by the first class of advanced training cadets, as well as pilots in the advanced training stage, for gunnery and combat tactics, and the outstanding performance of the Tuskegee Airmen was unprecedented in military aviation history.
The month of March is significant to the Tuskegee Airmen, as it is the month in which the first cadets received their wings; the first maintenance crew began training at Chanute Field, Illinois; the first Pursuit Squadron, the 99th, was activated; Eleanor Roosevelt visited Kennedy Field and flew with Chief Alfred Anderson, an African American Instructor Pilot; and President George W. Bush presented the Tuskegee Airmen with the Congressional Gold Medal.'
The bill continues, listing some of the most prominent names of Airmen, as well as other notable African Americans, in the state of Florida.
WASHINGTON, DC - NOVEMBER 11: Tuskegee Airman Major Anderson shows off a Congressional Gold Medal ... [+] given to all Tuskegee Airmen during a ceremony commemorating Veterans Day and honoring the group of World War II airmen November 11, 2013 in Washington, DC. The ceremony was held at the African American Civil War Museum on the day that World War I ended 95 years ago, the date the United States honors all of its military veterans. (Photo by)
Other states, including Mississippi, Kentucky and Pennsylvania, currently celebrate this day. Could the holiday eventually receive federal status?
A proposed federal holiday, like any other bill, would need to be introduced in either the House of Representatives or the Senate. From there, the bill must be passed by both chambers with a majority vote before being sent to the president, to sign it into law.
Some states that have yet to make Tuskegee Airmen Day an official holiday have aligned to create a collective tribute to the Airmen. Governor Wes Moore of Maryland, Governor Glenn Youngkin of Virginia and Mayor Muriel Bowser of Washington, D.C., each issued proclamations declaring March 27, 2025, Tuskegee Airmen Commemoration Day. The unified recognition across the region underscores a commitment to uplifting the Airmen's legacy. Other states, such as Connecticut, have bills in progress.
Perhaps today, more than ever, the Tuskegee Airmen can unify the country once again—even if it's 80 years after their historic efforts of World War II.
