The Pioneering Black Generals Who Struggled Against Invisibility

It’s not every day that you get invited to view a movie featuring someone in your family. But that is exactly what happened to me in December 2011, when I attended a private screening of the film Red Tails. This George Lucas–produced movie is based on the Tuskegee Airmen, the first Black fighter pilots in the U.S. Army Air Corps.

Although I didn’t know it at the time, Lucas had been working on the project for twenty-three years and had fronted much of his own money to make it. Red Tails ended up being the final film of Lucas’ career.

For me, it was surreal that one of the greatest filmmakers of our time had laid hands on the story of the Tuskegee Airmen—and part of my family story. The opportunity to see my family celebrated and brought to the forefront frankly blew my mind.

Read more at The Daily Beast.