Perseverance

On Friday, rather than spending time writing this blog, I attended a program on campus titled, "Profiles in Courage."  That explains why I am writing this on Sunday, but it also led me to my thoughts for today.

The program featured two African-American military officers who are part of the famed Tuskegee Airmen.  Both spoke of their struggles, and those of their peers, to break the color barrier in the U.S. military, and to be allowed to become pilots.  I enjoyed listening to Lt. Col. (Ret.) Hiram Mann and COL (Ret.) Nathan Thomas, Jr. speak about their experiences. One thing that struck me about both of them is how they had to persevere in the face of the many obstacles put in their way due to racism.

Lt. Col. Mann had to apply three times before he was accepted for flight training, and he was finally accepted because the military had established a flight school for African-Americans at Tuskegee Air Force Base by this time.  The first two times, he was denied access simply for being black.  COL Thomas told the story of a colleague who was the first African-American accepted at the U.S. Air Force Academy at Colorado Springs.  This man endured four years of training during which no one spoke to him except when absolutely necessary.  Think of the perseverance and strength of spirit it must have taken to succeed in such rigorous training with no support from friends and peers.

Sometimes leaders need to make hard choices and to stand up for what they believe is right, even when faced with tremendous opposition.  Please join me in honoring the sacrifices made by the Tuskegee Airmen.  These sacrifices include both the risks they took in military combat and the efforts they made to change the attitudes toward race in this country.