CCBC Pays Tribute to Tuskegee Airmen

Today at 5 p.m., the Catonsville campus of the Community College of Baltimore County is hosting a tribute to the Tuskegee airmen as part of its Black History Month programming.

While the Aviation Management program at CCBC-Catonsville shows the movie The Tuskegee Airmen every February, three of the Tuskegee service men who fought in World War II will be present this year to sign autographs, pose for pictures, sell memorabilia and deliver 15-minute presentations on what it was like to be a black fighter pilot in a segregated U.S. Army. They’ll leave just before The Tuskegee Airmen is screened at 7 p.m.

“It’s just a great opportunity for the students, the faculty [and] the community at large to celebrate Black History Month and their accomplishments,” said Stephanie Molholt, assistant professor of history and advisor to the History Club at the Catonsville campus.

Molholt collaborated with Doug Williams, who heads up the Aviation Management Program, to bring the airmen to CCBC. Williams reached out to a contact at the nonprofit Tuskegee Airmen, Inc., who was able to get in touch with three flyers. The Black Student Union at the Catonsville campus is also co-sponsoring the event.

“I think it’s one thing to talk about how courageous they would have been,” said Molholt. “But just the very personal story that they’re going to be able to tell about how they may have been frightened, they may have been nervous—up until that point African Americans were not allowed in certain units—just listening to them first hand . . . is really going to be amazing.”

Since finalizing the event’s details in January, Molholt, Williams and Anthony Alleyne, coordinator for the BSU, have been promoting the event in different classes and at local high schools. Molholt is hoping for a good turnout, and encourages other CCBC students and faculty (there’s a CCBC campus located in Hunt Valley) to attend.

“Because it is such an amazing experience, we want this to be a community event as well,” said Molholt. “As a community college, part of what we do is entertain the community, envelop the community [and] service the community.”

Admission to the event is free, and no tickets or reservations are required beforehand.

The black airmen who fought in World War II were trained at the Tuskegee Army Air Field in Tuskegee, Alabama. The first class of Tuskegee airmen completed training in March 1942.Of the 13 who initially enlisted, just five completed the training. By 1946, more than 900 black airmen were commissioned at Tuskegee Army Air Field.

The success and dedication of the Tuskegee airmen, both on and off the battlefield, were contributing factors for President Truman’s issuing Executive Order Number 9981, in 1948, which called for equality in opportunity and treatment in all branches of the U.S. military.

To have three Tuskegee airmen present—a physical manifestation of the history taught inside the classroom—is both stunning and exciting for Molholt.

“They opened the doors for a lot of people,” she said. “If you want to do something, even if it’s completely impossible at that point, they show that people have succeeded against great, great odds. These guys [were] certainly breaking boundaries. And doing so with great grace and success.”