Soul Cinema | The Tuskegee Airman

As filmgoers prepare for producer George Lucas’ aerial action assault with his passion project, Red Tails, here is an earlier TV version of the saluting these brave men, HBO’s The Tuskegee Airman.

The 1995 film focuses on the exploits of a group of special young men during the Second World War when a special project is initiated by the US Army Air Corps to integrate African American pilots into the Fighter Pilot Program. Known as the “Tuskegee Airman” for the name of the airbase at which they were trained, these men were forced to constantly endure harassement, prejudice, and much behind the scenes politics until at last they were able to prove themselves in combat.

The film won three Emmy awards and featured an all-star cast of talent including Oscar nominee Laurence Fishburne, Courtney Vance, Andre Braugher and future Oscar winner Cuba Gooding, Jr.