The Tuskegee Airmen
Informational (nonfiction) 1,786 words, Level V (Grade 4), Lexile 1120L
In the 1940s, the United States was a very racially divided country. Leaders from the Black community wanted Black people to be able to train as pilots, but the military did not believe Black people could do this work. In 1941, the U.S. government forced the U.S. Army Air Corps to train Black pilots. The first training site was Tuskegee Army Air Field. Read to find out how the all-Black flying unit from Tuskegee, Alabama, went on to become one of the most successful and heroic squadrons in history, despite segregation and discrimination.