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Grade 5 Social Studies · World 5: Another World War · Level 54
The Tuskegee Airmen
Describe them and the changing role of African Americans.
Warm-up, learn, try it together, practice, then a quick check. About 15 minutes.
What children learn in Level 54
- More than a million Black Americans served in World War II. The military kept them in separate units, and many people claimed they couldn't fly planes.
- In Tuskegee, Alabama, Black pilots set out to prove them wrong. The Tuskegee Airmen trained there, near the school where George Washington Carver taught.
- They flew in Europe, protecting American bombers from enemy planes, and they earned honors for their skill. They painted the tails of their planes red, so people called them the Red Tails.
- Black newspapers called for a Double V: victory over enemies abroad, and victory over racism at home. In 1941, after Black leaders pressed the president, Roosevelt banned race bias in war factories, and many Black workers took new jobs.
- In 1948, President Truman ordered the armed forces to end segregation. Soldiers who had fought for freedom came home ready to demand it. You'll see that in World 7.
Georgia Standards of Excellence in Social Studies:
- SS5H4.e — Describe the effects of rationing and the changing role of women and African Americans or Blacks; include "Rosie the Riveter" and the Tuskegee Airmen.