Cheers for the Tuskegee airmen

The Major General Irene Trowell-Harris Chapter of the Tuskegee Airmen Inc. tuition-assistance dinner dance at Anthony”™s Pier 9 in New Windsor not only celebrated its 11th year awarding scholarships to local students but gave the more than 375 supporters plenty to cheer about. A new African-American president and First Lady; the dedication in 2008, as a national historic site of Moton Field in Tuskegee, Ala., where the WWII “experiment” to see if African-Americans could perform like their white counterparts took place; and the awarding of 10 more scholarships to local students.

The airmen, who became invaluable to Air Force squadrons for their capability and dedication to duty during wartime, continued to fight for equality when the war ended. They persuaded getting President Harry S. Truman to sign a law, in 1948, prohibiting segregation in the military ”” starting what would eventually become the Civil Rights movement. Among the guests:

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