PEACHTREE CITY, USA – As Black History Month is celebrated in February, Aventure Aviation is celebrating the acheivments of Charles Alfred Anderson, an American aviator and chief flight instructor of the famed Tuskegee Airmen. He would become known as the Father of Black Aviation.
He was the only African American pilot in America when he received his license in 1932. Since flight schools didn’t accept African Americans, Anderson had to purchase his own aircraft and teach himself to fly.
At the beginning of WW2, African Americans were not allowed to be military pilots. In 1941 Anderson had the opportunity to fly First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt, who became an advocate for the Tuskegee Airmen, the first Black military pilots. Led by Anderson, the airmen became a great asset during WWII, flying 1,378 combat missions.
“Charles Anderson was a man of great determination, willing to do anything to achieve his goals,” said Jeremy Brown, Tuskegee University alumnus and Aventure Aviation warehouse assistant.
March 1941 – U.S. Army Air Corps Tuskegee Airman pilot Alfred Anderson (right) with First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt (center).
