Soaring above racial discrimination in WWII
Tuskegee Airmen talk about desegregation in the military
BY JENNIFER AMATO Staff Writer

JENNIFER AMATO Malcolm Nettingham (l-r), Saleem Muhamad and Mark Kemp, members of the Tuskegee Airmen, spoke to students at Linwood Middle School and the North Brunswick Township High School on Friday.

NORTH BRUNSWICK - To commemorate Dec. 7, 1941, the day that the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor, members of the Tuskegee Airmen spoke to students at Linwood Middle School and the North Brunswick Township High School on Friday.

Original Tuskegee Airmen Saleem Muhamad, whose enlisted name was Willie Nelson, and Malcolm Nettingham, as well as Mark Kemp, the president of the Hannibal M. "Killer" Cox Jr. Chapter, spoke about the group of African American men who were the first racial sector to desegregate the military.

"In order to continue the legacy, we need to get some younger ones out there but also we have a chance to get living history to come and do presentations," Kemp said.

Because of racial segregation at the time, African Americans were not allowed to serve in the military. However, after the United States Congress forced the Army Air Corps to form an all-black combat unit, protocol was changed so that blacks were allowed to apply for military inclusion.

"The common belief at that time was that blacks lacked the knowledge, ability and know-it-all to fly," Kemp said.

The blacks were trained and flew separately at Moton Field in Tuskegee, Ala.; hence their name. They were given a red jacket to distinguish them from other pilots, and their planes had their tails painted red.

Although Muhamad said he could not remember clearly the events of 60 years ago, he said he knew training for the 99th Fighter Squadron was difficult.

"At that time it was pretty rough because of a lot of racial riots out there," he said.

Kemp showed the students a video interview of William Neal Brown, who was the first African American professor at Rutgers University, and also a Tuskegee Airman, which further explained racial hardships. During the conversation, Brown told of how when he arrived at McDill Field in Tampa, Fla., he was not saluted nor recognized when he reported to the base.

"We don't have any [black men] down here," he recalled hearing.

He met a black chaplain there, so the two went to explore the town, being forced to ride on the back of the bus, which was "very aggravating," and having each glass they drank Coca-Cola out of smashed instead of washed.

"We just about filled up that sink with glasses before we left," he said.

Brown also debated Malcolm X for 90 minutes in 1962 about race relations, because Brown felt unification was needed, whereas Malcolm thought there should be separate black and white states.

"Using [the military] as a model, society was able to pick up on that and integrate us more," Kemp said. He said now military participation is "based on one thing and one thing only: if you are the best qualified person for the job."

Then, Kemp told of the National Convention in Omaha, Neb., two years ago when a white man sat crying in the back of the room, which was filled with the black pilots. When asked why he was so emotionally affected, the man said that when he was in a bomber over Germany, his escorts were shot down. He saw German planes coming toward him over the horizon and with no bombs, no machine guns and no escorts; he thought he was going to die. He said he began to pray for a sign, and over the radio he heard someone say, "You're going home," which he interpreted as death. Instead, he said he saw the red tails and watched as three German planes were shot down and the others scattered; the Tuskegee Airmen had saved his life.

Kemp said the strength of the Airmen, despite the expectations of them to fail, came from their "cohesiveness as a unit" because "they knew they were a small group of people so they knew if there was any dissension in that group, it would implode."

Kemp, who is originally from Washington, D.C., was stationed in New Jersey for 20 of his 25 years of service in the Air Force. He said there are about 13 original Airmen alive in New Jersey, of the 500 total, and that there are 52 chapters of charter members across the country.

"New Jersey is pretty rich in Tuskegee Airmen history," Kemp said.

The Tuskegee Airmen were honored with the Congressional Gold Medal by President George Bush in March, which will be placed in the Smithsonian Institution in Washington. Muhamad received a bronze replica in September.

The 2008 National Convention will be held in July in Philadelphia.