Sewell is relieved that the Tuskegee Airmen have been restored in the Air Force Curriculum

January 27, 2025 – BIRMINGHAM, AL – Congresswoman Terri Sewell (D-AL07) expressed her relief that the Air Force has restored the story of the Tuskegee Airmen to the Air Force curriculum. The story of the World War II Black fighter pilots who were trained at a field in Tuskegee, Alabama was briefly removed as the Air Force was removing diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) material from the curriculum to comply with an executive order from President Donald J. Trump (R).

"While I am relieved that our collective calls have forced the Trump Administration to reverse course, the removal of the Tuskegee Airmen from the Air Force curriculum should have never happened in the first place," Rep. Sewell said in a statement. "We should all see the Trump Administration's attacks on DEI for what they really are-an attempt to whitewash our history and devalue the contributions of African Americans."

"Throughout the next four years, we as Americans will need to remain especially vigilant against attacks on Black history, and as elected officials, we should be prepared to call them out," added Sewell. "I hope we can continue to do so in a bipartisan manner."

Senator Katie Britt (R-Alabama) blamed the removal of the Tuskegee Airmen from the curriculum on maliciousness on the part of faculty who wanted to embarrass the President. At the urging of Britt and other critics, new Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth intervened to restore the Tuskegee Airmen.

"I have no doubt Secretary Hegseth will correct and get to the bottom of the malicious compliance we've seen in recent days," said Sen. Britt on her X social media account. "President Trump celebrated and honored the Tuskegee Airmen during his first term, promoting legendary aviator Charles McGee to Brigadier General and pinning his stars in the Oval Office. In his second term, the Trump Administration will continue to deeply respect and elevate the Tuskegee Airmen's legacy. Their history and their lessons will continue to be taught-because their legacy is one of excellence, of success, and of unquestionable merit."

"As the Pentagon under @PeteHegseth's leadership restores its focus to lethality, there is no greater historical example of a highly skilled, valiant fighting force than the Tuskegee Airmen," added Britt. "These role models will continue to inspire the next generation of courageous, selfless American servicemembers."

Secretary Hegseth posted on X, "This has been immediately reversed. Thank you @SenKatieBritt."

President Trump received more support from Black Americans in 2024 than he did in 2020 or 2016 with 21% of Black men supporting Trump – the best performance for a Republican in 48 years – contributing to Trump's electoral landslide win over Vice President Kamala Harris. Terri Sewell represents Alabama's Seventh Congressional district.

The Tuskegee Airmen initially flew combat air support missions using the Curtiss P40 Warhawks. They also briefly flew the Bell P39 Aircobra and P47 Thunderbolt; but once they were given the state of the art P51 Mustang and their mission changed to primarily escorting bombers they became legendary at their ability to protect the bombers – at almost any cost. No airmen did not miss seeing the instructional videos on the Tuskegee Airmen during their training.

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