This poignant history of the Tuskegee Airmen separates myth and legend from fact, placing them within the context of the growth of American airpower and the early stirrings of the African American Civil Rights Movement. The "Tuskegee Airmen"-the first African American pilots to serve in the U.S. military-were comprised of the 99th Fighter Squadron, the 332nd Fighter Group, and the 477th Bombardment Group, all of whose members received their initial training at Tuskegee Army Airfield in Alabama. Their successful service during World War II helped end military segregation, which was an important step in ending Jim Crow laws in civilian society. This volume in Greenwood's Landmarks of the American Mosaic series depicts the Tuskegee Airmen at the junction of two historical trends: the growth of airpower and its concurrent development as a critical factor in the American military, and the early stirring of the Civil Rights Movement. Tuskegee Airmen explains how the United States's involvement in battling foes that represented a threat to the American way of life helped to push the administration of President Franklin D. Roosevelt to allow African American soldiers to serve in the Army Air Corps. This work builds on the works of others, forming a synthesis from earlier studies that approached the topic mostly from either a "black struggles" or military history perspective. 16 original documents relating to the creation and performance of the Tuskegee Airmen during World War II, each accompanied by a brief description that provides historical context 28 short biographies of black aviation and military pioneers, important people among the Tuskegee Airmen, as well as several of the Airmen themselves A comprehensive bibliographic description of major secondary works on the Tuskegee Airmen, World War II, airpower, and black participation in the American military A glossary of specialized terms pertaining to the military, aviation, World War II, and African Americans

This one-volume reference work examines a broad range of topics related to the establishment, maintenance, and eventual dismantling of the discriminatory system known as Jim Crow. Many Americans imagine that African Americans' struggle to achieve equal rights has advanced in a linear fashion from the end of slavery until the present. In reality, for more than six decades, African Americans had their civil rights and basic human rights systematically denied in much of the nation. Jim Crow: A Historical Encyclopedia of the American Mosaic sheds new light on how the systematic denigration of African Americans after slavery-known collectively as "Jim Crow"-was established, maintained, and eventually dismantled. Written in a manner appropriate for high school and junior high students as well as undergraduate readers, this book examines the period of Jim Crow after slavery that is often overlooked in American history curricula. An introductory essay frames the work and explains the significance and scope of this regrettable period in American history. Written by experts in their fields, the accessible entries will enable readers to understand the long hard road before the inception of the Civil Rights Movement in the 20th century while also gaining a better understanding of the experiences of minorities in the United States-African Americans, in particular. Provides a one-stop source of information for students researching the period of American history dominated by the discriminatory system of Jim Crow laws Puts phenomena such as "Sundown towns" within a larger framework of official discrimination Documents the methods used to create, maintain, and dismantle Jim Crow

The book traces the history of the Richardson Light Guard from its origins in 1851, through war and peace, until its end in 1975. What had been an institution of members and local elites, passed to the town, then state, and finally federal governments. During the same period, Wakefield evolved from an agrarian town, to a manufacturing town, and finally into a bedroom suburb, ending the practice of a handful of local elites controlling most town institutions. Though the rise of the National Guard was generally positive, bringing uniformity, professionalism and better equipment, for some militia companies, inclusion into the National Guard weakened vital bonds with their communities. In the 19th century, the Richardson Light Guard thrived under generous patrons, a supportive town, and a relatively wealthy state government. It was the institution through which the town went to war and memorialised war during peacetime. After becoming part of the National Guard in 1916, the deep links with its home community steadily weakened until breaking during World War II. After the war, the National Guard company had few links to the town, and was reorganised out of existence in 1975.