The Tuskegee Airmen were part of a U.S. Army Air Corps program begun in 1941 to train African Americans to fly combat aircraft. The Airmen flew bomber escorts as the 332nd Fighter Group and became one of the most highly respected fighter groups of World War II. Their efforts paved the way towards the integration of all U.S. military forces in 1948.

From the country's beginning, African Americans fought wars in racially segregated units with the generally unrealized expectation that patriotism and courage would demonstrate their rights to first-class citizenship. It took more than a century and a half before their talents, contributions and service achieved recognition.

In this program, Anthony Gibbs, a member of educational storytellers known as "We've Known Rivers," portrays a Tuskegee Airman.