It’s the weekend, so what to do? Well here’s one thing to add to the list, be sure to check out the film Red Tails, by George Lucas starring Cuba Gooding Jr, Terrence Howard, Richard Dreyfuss, Olympia Dukakis, Bryan Cranston Nate Parker, David Oyelowo, Tristan Wilds, Aml Ameen and Cliff Smith (aka Method Man). The movie is a world war II action adventure; the Red Tails film is a fictional tale inspired by the true story of America’s first all black aerial combat unit the Tuskegee Airmen.
Lucas, the creator of Star Wars, put up $58 million of his own money toward the film after being turned down by all the major movie houses. Lucas said executives worried that the majority-black cast wouldn’t put butts in the seats, even though that cast includes Terrence Howard, Cuba Gooding Jr., up and comer Tristan Wilds, Ne-Yo and Nate Parker. The film director, also a black man, is Anthony Hemingway whose credits include The Wire and CSI New York.
“I’ve been wanting to do ‘Red Tails’ for 20 years, and we’ve finally got the means to showcase the skill of the Tuskegee pilots,” Lucas said. “We’re working on techniques which will give us the first true look at the aerial dog-fighting of the era. And our top-notch cast will really make this story special”.
Here’s our chance to support a film that pays homage to men who so proudly served our country and support Black Hollywood.
Who are the Tuskegee Airmen?
In 1939, the government began establishing flight schools at colleges around the nation but refused to do so at any of the Black colleges believing black men didn’t have the calibre to be fighter pilots.
But with mounting pressure from black newspapers, pressure groups and a few sympathetic government leaders including President Franklin D. Roosevelt and his wife Eleanor it was decided to try the “Tuskegee Experiment”. So on July the 19th 1941 a flight school was established at the historic Tuskegee University in Alabama. In June 1943, the Tuskegee Airmen entered into combat over North Africa. The airmen should courage, skill and dedication in combat. They flew more than 15,000 sorties, completing over 1,500 missions during the war. They never lost an escorted bomber to enemy fighters. No other escort unit could claim such a record. When the war ended, the Tuskegee Airmen returned home with 150 Distinguished Flying Crosses, Legions of Merit and the Red Star of Yugoslavia. The group was disbanded in May 1946 but its success contributed to blacks men and women been fully integrated into the military.
We must support our own in order to show Hollywood that we count as consumers and we want to see relevant movies pertaining to our history and lives.
Support the film and support black Hollywood!
Source: Red Tails Film
