Speaker - Lanelle Roberts Brent, daughter of Col. George S. “Spanky” Roberts, the first cadet accepted into the Tuskegee Airman program

This year marks the 75^th Anniversary of the “Tuskegee Experience”, the Army Air Corps program to train African Americans to fly and maintain combat aircraft.  The “Tuskegee Airmen” included pilots, navigators, bombardier, maintenance and support staff, instructors, and all the personnel who kept the planes in the air.  The military selected Tuskegee Institute in Alabama to train pilots because of its commitment to aeronautical training.  Tuskegee has the facilities and engineering and technical instructors, as well as a climate for year round flying.  The first Civilian Pilot Training Program students completed their instruction in May 1940.  The Tuskegee Experience began March 22, 1941 during World War II.  The activation of the U.S.. Army Air Corps 99^th Pursuit Squadron at Chanute Field on this date began the advent of a legacy born directly from the effort and determination of over 16,000 proud men and women.

Forty-two years, two wars and four children later, Edith Roberts, widow of Col. George S. “Spanky” Roberts, founded the “Living History Team” of the George S. “Spanky” Roberts Chapter.  Lanelle Roberts Brent & Leigh Roberts accompanied their mother, Edith Roberts, to their Living History presentations around the state and the country, helping out as needed until eventually taking over the presentations as her mother aged.  Lanelle Roberts Brent and Leigh Roberts continue to speak about the program out of an act of love, civic pride, the need to educate our young on Black history and determination to keep the legacy of the Tuskegee Airmen alive.