1944+Tuskegee+Airmen

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1944 Tuskegee Airmen Michael M



MLA Citations for the pictures. "Tuskegee Airmen." Image. Library of Congress. //American History//.ABC-CLIO, 2011. Web. 21 Sept. 2011.

__** TASK I: **__ Write a journal/newspaper style article in which you take a neutral stance (as a reporter) and give the facts about the actual event. What led up to the event? What happened during the actual event? Did it have an “end” or is it unresolved? You are to write about this event __when it happened__, you are assuming the role of a reporter in 1850, 1920, etc., __not someone looking back from 2011__. You need to cite your sources, and they must include information only available during that time period. At least one source must be primary and/or an eyewitness account. **Important - This work will be submitted to TurnItIn.com. We will provide you information about using this helpful resource**!

By Michael Mitiska 26 May 1945 Columbus Ohio - The Tuskegee airmen return Saturday as the end of the war with Germany in WWII has finally come to a close.
 * African American Heroes continue to face racism **

We commemorate the return of the soldiers from battle. One of The smallest and most discriminated soldiers in the war was the Tuskegee Airmen. These men came from all over our country such as New York and Detroit to be able to become our country’s only African American military group. Col. Charles McGee, one of the Tuskegee airmen, said yesterday has he returned home, “The country declared war, and everybody was interested in doing their part” (Ward). This was one big part why he and all his fellow African American pilots enrolled in the military; to do their part and protect our country. Another reason was to prove to the country that they could fight, even though they were black. McGee didn’t just enter the war and begin training with all the other soldiers, or at least the white ones; his training began somewhere else.

Their training didn’t begin until about 4 years ago in July of 1941. They weren’t allowed to fly at first because “Gen. Henry Arnold Argued that Negro pilots cannot be used in our present Air Force, since this would result in having Negro officers over white enlisted men” (Emery 1). In 1940 he caved in to the people and let the black people enter the military. After a few months, the men began to train at the Tuskegee Army Air Field in Alabama. Last year the 332nd fighter group was set up from many African American fighter groups around the United States. “By the end of the war, 926 African-American pilots had been trained. Out of nearly 1,000 black airmen, 450 black fighter pilots fought over the skies...[flying] P-40, P-39, P-47, and P-51 aircrafts” (African-American troops). While there were no black people on the ground during our long and gutrenching war against the communists, the “Black Red-tailed Angels” or Tuskegee Airmen were a big bonus to finally get us through this battle. The Tuskegee airmen returned to the United States just days ago and continue to face racism regardless of their victories overseas.

Works Cited “African-American troops.” //Oxford Reference Online//. Oxford University Press 2011, n.d. Web. 21 Sept. 2011. [|http://www.oxfordreference.com]. Emery, Gary. “Tuskegee Airmen.” //ABC-CLIO eBook Collection//. N.p., n.d. Web. 21 Sept. 2011. [|http://americanhistory.abc-clio.com]. Ward, Derrick. “Local Tuskegee Airman to National Aviation Hall of Fame.” //NBC Washington// 11 July 2011: n. pag. //NBC//. Web. 5 Oct. 2011. [|http://www.nbcwashington.com]. Task 1: Mastery Rubric A quality news article will: •open with an attention-grabbing headline •identify the author's name and the date of the publication (in the past) •develop the 5 W's in three power paragraphs •paragraph 1: contain an interesting lead •paragraph 2: correctly cite a secondary source (an indirect quote) •paragraph 3: correctly cite a primary source (eyewitness account) •maintain appropriate journalistic voice •read like an article written in the same time period as the event occurred •be free of mechanics and Works Cited errors


 * __TASK II__**
 * __What is the Argument?__**

Should African Americans, like the Tuskegee airmen, be alowed to fight in the armed forces and be given the rights of personhood?

__**PROMPT 1: Why did the majority of Americans not recognize the rights of members of this group?**__

The majority of Americans didn’t recognize the rights of the Tuskegee airmen because they were African Americans. They didn’t believe they were people because their peers told them that this race was not a person and said that they were incapable with working along with the white majority and if they were good at working together or good at what they did, they should not be allowed to do it. Tim Watts of the Oxford reference once wrote “FDR surrounded this theme: a nation facing totalitarianism should strengthen its unity and morale by refuting at home the very theories which we are fighting abroad”. FDR liked this because he wanted the people to unite a fight with the problem (people) to fix the problem in society. Donald Cameron Watt of ABC-CLIO wrote, “Their performance was often substantial, but the problem was mostly with the leadership of the white officers. Many of them were considered unfit for the white units”. These show how the Africans Americans are capable of getting the work done but the Americans don’t want them to participate in an un-segregated military.

Watt, Donald Cameron, et al. “World War II (1939-1945).” //The Oxford Companion to American Military History//. Oxford University, 1999. Web. 28 Sept. 2011. <http://www.oxfordreference.com>. <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif';">Watts, Tim. “Segregation in the Armed Forces: Korean War.” //ABC-CLIO eBook Collection//. N.p., n.d. Web. 28 Sept. 2011. <http://worldatwar.abc-clio.com>.

<span style="color: #220202; display: block; font-family: 'times new roman',times,serif; font-size: 12px; text-align: left;">**__PROMPT 2: How did advocates for the minority group shed light on this injustice?__** <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;">Throughout Americas history there has always been segregation whether it is through race or gender but it has always been there. During WWII, the Tuskegee Airmen were segregated and the Black community was furious while still supporting their heroes. An article from pbs.org stated “Black citizens were outraged at the idea of fighting bigotry abroad while it was tolerated at home, but the military continued to insist on segregating African-American servicemen into all-black units” (Fighting for Democracy). This says that the Blacks were mad at the United States for segregating their military units yet still go overseas to fight a war on segregation and discrimination because they don’t like it. The Tuskegee Airmen wanted to fly to prove a point and were able to do this because “the men and women who supported them paved the way for full integration of the U.S. military” (Airmen Overview). With the help of their supporters, who were furious that the military was segregated, the Tuskegee airmen were able to accomplish such a huge feat.

“Airmen Overview.” //Nps//. National Park Service, 10 Apr. 2000. Web. 5 Oct. 2011. [|http://www.nps.gov]. “Fighting for Democracy.” //PBS//. pbs, Sept. 2007. Web. 5 Oct. 2011. [|http://www.pbs.org].

**__Paragraph 1: Analyze the impact of the literary or artistic work for the minority group and/or American society as a whole.__**
 * __ TASK III: __**

Poems have been a way for thousands of years for people to express their feelings about an idea and I think that Gwendolyn Brooks’ poem //Negro Hero// is an excellent piece about the Tuskegee Airmen or just Black soldiers in the mid- early 1900’s in general. This poem expresses what the African American soldiers feel and their thoughts about fighting for their country and how they are treated from the Whites. A few lines of the poem that capture the Blacks reasoning for fighting for their country are “And a man will guard when he loves. Their white-gowned democracy was my fair lady. With her knife laying cold, straight, in the softness of her sweet-flowing sleeve…I toyed with my life” (Brooks 17). I believe that this shows that the African Americans wanted to fight for their country but they didn’t want the White people, who were superiority over them, to hurt them.

Brooks, Gwendolyn. “Negro Hero.” //The Essential//. Ed. Elizabeth Alexander. Chicago: Literary CLassics of the United States, 2005. 16-17. Print.

Negro Hero
//By Gwendolyn Brooks//

I had to kick their law into their teeth in order to save them. However I have heard that sometimes you had to deal devilishly with drowning men in order to swim them to shore. Or they will haul themselves and you to the trash and the fish beneath. (When I think of this, I do not worry about a few chipped teeth.)

It is good I gave glory, it is good I put gold in their name. Or there would have been spikes in the afterward hands. But let us speak only of my success and the pictures in the Caucasian dailies. As well as the Negro weeklies. For I am a Gem. (They are not concerned that it was hardly The Enemy my fight was against but them.)

It was a tall time. And of course my blood was boiling about in my head and straining and howling and singing me on. Of course I was rolled on wheels of my boy itch to get at the gun. Of course all the delicate rehearsal shots of my childhood massage in the mirage before me. Of course I was a child. And my first swallow of the liquor of battle bleeding black air dying and the demon noise Made me wild.

It was kinder than that, though, and I showed like a banner my kindness. I loved. And a man will guard when he loves. Their white-gowned democracy was my fair lady. With her knife laying cold, straight, in the softness of her sweet-flowing sleeve. But for the sake of the dear smiling mouth and the stuttered promise I toyed with my life. I threw back! —I would not remember Entirely the knife.

Still—am I good enough to die for them, is my blood bright enough to be spilled, Was my constant back-question—are they clear On this? Or do I intrude even now?

Brooks, Gwendolyn. “Negro Hero.” //The Essential//. Ed. Elizabeth Alexander. Chicago: Literary CLassics of the United States, 2005. 16-17. Print.

<span style="color: #000000; display: block; font-family: georgia,serif; font-size: 11px; text-align: left;">__**Paragraph 2: CLOSING-- How did the event impact the debate on the argument?**__

I believe that the Tuskegee airmen should be recognized as people and given all of the same rights as anyone else. I believe this because they fought in WWII, one of - if not the - bloodiest battle in our countries history, and their race has always been segregated upon in life. When Gwendolyn Brooks author of the __The Essential__ writes, “Still—am I good enough to die for them”, I believe it is and that everyone will appreciate the service that you put in. in conclusion, I think that it would benefit everyone to give the same rights to the African Americans, and to actually enforce them, because it would hopefully end much of the discrimination between this topic.

Brooks, Gwendolyn. “Negro Hero.” //The Essential//. Ed. Elizabeth Alexander. Chicago: Literary CLassics of the United States, 2005. 16-17. Print. <span style="color: #008080; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 14px;">An outstanding product will. <span style="color: #008080; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 14px;">•showcase a work that expresses a profound idea about your event and the argument surrounding it <span style="color: #800080; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 14px;">Very appropriate choice <span style="color: #008080; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 14px;">•be the **best** example available, not simply the first one you find <span style="color: #008080; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 14px;">•demonstrate your ability to interpret the meaning of the literary or artistic piece <span style="color: #008080; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 14px;">•use the extended power paragraph format as a means to express your understanding of the event, argument, and how art literature and art <span style="color: #008080; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 14px;">can reveal emotions and ideas <span style="color: #800080; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 14px;">Avoid expressions like, "I think" and "I believe," they weaken your points. <span style="color: #008080; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 14px;">•reference sources accurately <span style="color: #008080; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 14px;">•mechanics are clean and effective <span style="color: #800080; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 14px;">Be sure to edit and polish your writing; even work that isn't printed can be checked in the WIW! <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 10pt;">An outstanding time line entry includes the following: <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 10pt;">• Opens by identifying you, the author, and your event with a banner headline (see an example of a banner on the top of this page). <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 10pt;">• Under the banner, in the table place two graphics or photos that illustrates an important aspect of the event. <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">• Thoughtful responses to each prompt are supported by credible sources representing diverse perspectives on the event. <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">• Each response should be posted in order (follow template instructions), contain few mechanic errors and follow the power paragraph format. <span style="display: block; font-family: 'times new roman',times,serif; text-align: left;">• The credibility of each cited source is established and internal citations accurately match the Works Cited.• TASK I and TASK II each introduce and cite two new sources; TASK III cites one new source.• The Works Cited lists 5 credible sources from the LC databases.
 * <span style="color: #008080; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 17px;">TASK III: Artistic Expression Element Rubric **
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