Black History

In 1941, Tuskegee, Alabama, was selected as the site of an important new development in military training. For the first time, black Americans were to be allowed to serve their country as members of the United States Army Air Corps. During its five-year history, Tuskegee Army Air Field was home to almost 1,000 African-American pilots. More than 10,000 black men and women served as their vital support personnel. Together, they filled the ranks of the 99th Fighter
Squadron, the 332nd Fighter Group, and the 477th
Bombardment Group. Their remarkable achievements at home and overseas destroyed stereotypes and helped to bring about the eventual integration of the United States military. Under the harsh restrictions of segregation, the African-Americans both trained and served together, and in this forced isolation, developed unbreakable bonds .

Join Joshua and his grandpa for a heartwarming history of the brave African American Tuskegee Airmen of World War II.

Young readers can sit with Joshua and his friends as his grandfather tells him the story of his service in World War II as a Tuskegee Airman. Topics like war, racism, and segregation may be unfamiliar to young readers, but this story explains complicated topics in ways that any child can understand. The Tuskegee Airmen were the first African American military pilots, and some of the bravest among all of the armed forces, but pilots weren’t the only important faction— both men and women worked as mechanics, instructors, nurses, cooks, and many more invaluable jobs. As Joshua’s grandpa says, “Everybody who helped America to win the war was a hero. Some people fought America’s enemies in battles overseas. Others fought for freedom at home.”

Learn about the service and sacrifice made by Joshua’s grandpa, grandma, and countless others who made the Tuskegee Airmen legacy last for generations.

Traveling throughout the South during the 1950s was hazardous for African Americans. There were precious few hotels and restaurants that opened their doors to minorities, and fewer still had accommodations above the bare minimum, to say nothing of the racism and violence that followed. But in Birmingham, black entrepreneur and eventual millionaire A.G. Gaston created a first-class motel and lounge for African Americans that became a symbol of pride of his community. It served as the headquarters for Birmingham's civil rights movement and became a revolving door for famous entertainers, activists, politicians and other pillars of the national black community. Author Marie Sutton chronicles the fascinating story of the motel and how it became a refuge during a time when African Americans could find none.

Tuskegee, Alabama, is associated with Tuskegee University, the Tuskegee Airmen, Booker T. Washington, and George Washington Carver. Named after the Taskigi, it is the site of the first law school in Alabama and had local schools long before there was a public school system. Tuskegee Normal School for Colored Teachers (now Tuskegee University) was pivotal to the city being a beacon of African American achievement for a century. The birthplace of civil rights icon Rosa Parks, radio host Tom Joyner, and singer Lionel Richie, it is where Olympic star Alice Coachman was dubbed the "Tuskegee Flash" and where important court cases guaranteeing voting rights and equal education were fought. The city was also the site of the infamous medical experiment that threatened to stain the school's triumphant legacy.

Since the city's founding in 1871, African American citizens of Birmingham have organized for equal access to justice and public accommodations. However, when thousands of young people took to the streets of Birmingham in the spring of 1963, their protest finally broke the back of segregation, bringing local leadership to its knees. While their parents could not risk loss of jobs or life, local youth agreed to bear the brunt of resistance by law enforcement and vigilantes to their acts of civil disobedience. By the fall, even youth who did not participate in the Children's Movement gave all for the struggle when a bomb placed in the 16th Street Baptist Church exploded and killed four girls.

Welcome to the wild, true history of Black baseball in Alabama.

 

From the gritty fields of Birmingham and Montgomery to the national stage of Cooperstown, Black Baseball in Alabama uncovers the real-life drama, danger, and determination that built one of America’s most important sports legacies. Author Shane Earnest explores how Black players, managers, and entrepreneurs navigated racism, segregation, and economic hardship. They transformed baseball into a thriving entertainment business alongside politicians, musicians, gamblers, gangsters, and bootleggers. These men and women took baseball from Alabama’s cotton fields and coal mines all the way to Cooperstown. Whether you’re a Negro Leagues historian, a Black sports history buff, or a fan of Alabama baseball heritage, this book is packed with powerful, rarely told stories that shaped the soul of American baseball, complete with many rare photos of a historic era in baseball.

Now in paperback!

Substitute teacher Victor Kennedy begins a middle-school American history class by writing one word on the chalkboard: Tuskegee. Over the next several days, the elderly veteran teaches students about the Tuskegee Airmen, brave men who fought racism and prejudice to fly more than 1,500 missions during World War II. The students learn about segregation and how the victories of the Tuskegee Airmen helped move the United States on a path toward racial equality. In Tuskegee Airmen: American Heroes, exciting battles against evil abroad and at home come alive for a new generation.

Reverends Martin Luther King Jr., Andrew Young and Fred Shuttlesworth are iconic names associated with the Birmingham campaign of the civil rights movement. Credit also is due to many local residents who risked their lives for the cause. Myrna Carter Jackson holds no shame in the police record she garnered in protest of the harsh treatment of African Americans in the city. Carolyn Walker Williams, who knew the injustice blacks faced in East Birmingham even as a child, was arrested in protest for the first time while still in school. Gerald Wren grew up in the Smithfield neighborhood, part of which was nicknamed Dynamite Hill as a result of the bombings of blacks' houses, churches and schools. Join author Nick Patterson as he interviews some of Birmingham's foot soldiers and recounts the struggle and adversity overcome.