KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Thursday marked the first National Tuskegee Airmen Day recognized by four metro area cities.
Officials from the cities of Kansas City, Missouri, Liberty, Overland Park and the Unified Government of Wyandotte County and Kansas City, Kansas, signed proclamations recognizing the day.
The Tuskegee Airmen are known for overcoming racial barriers as the country's first Black military airmen. They served in World War II before the United State's Armed Forces were desegregated.
The Tuskegee Airmen Heart of America Chapter celebrated the first National Tuskegee Airmen Day in Kansas City, Missouri, at the Downtown Airport's Charles E. McGee General Aviation Terminal. McGee flew with the Tuskegee Airmen.
"My boss, for awhile, was general, colonel Charles Edward McGee, and we became friends," John "Jack" Adams, a chapter member, said.
Adams served in the Air Force for 21 years. The Black pilots who came before him inspired him, including Tuskegee Airman Charles E. McGee.
"McGee was such a hero to me, and the Tuskegee Airmen, what they went through was massive," he said.
Tuskegee Airmen helped pave the way for President Truman's 1948 executive order that desegregated the U.S. miliatry.
A recent executive order signed by President Trump led to the U.S. Air Force's temporary removal of DEI training courses that included videos of Tuskegee Airmen.
That's why many in attendance on Thursday said commemorations such as National Tuskegee Airmen Day are important, including KCMO Mayor Pro Tem Ryana Parks-Shaw.
Parks-Shaw said Tuskegee Airmen history is important to her because her uncle was one.
"Efforts like this remind us why it is so important to protect, recognize and teach our history," she said.
Chapter President and retired Chief Master Sgt. Morcie Whitley echoed that sentiment.
"We're going to do what we can to keep the legacy alive," she said. "Not only in Kansas City, but all around."
KSHB 41 reporter Lily O’Shea Becker covers Franklin and Douglas counties in Kansas. Share your story idea with Lily.
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