CLEVELAND — On a day honoring Martin Luther King Jr. and the fight for equality, the Cleveland History Center has opened a new exhibition dedicated to local Tuskegee Airmen.
The Tuskegee Airmen Art exhibition at the Crawford Auto-Aviation Museum features dozens of hand-drawn portraits by students from the Cleveland Metropolitan School District’s Cleveland School of the Arts, depicting Tuskegee Airmen with Northeast Ohio roots. Airmen like 2nd Lt. Gilbert Cargill from Oberlin, Capt. Erwin Bernard Lawrence Jr. of Cleveland, and Cpl. Howard Arthur Tibbs of Salem, to name a few.
Tuskegee Airmen were America’s first Black military pilots and support staff who served during World War II.
I first told you about the Cleveland Heroes Project, a partnership between the school and the North Coast Chapter of Tuskegee Airmen Inc., last winter when students were conducting research and starting to sketch.
Here's my first report on the Cleveland Heroes Project:
This past October, I took you to Cleveland Hopkins International Airport for the unveiling of a mural that incorporates portraits completed by the students.
Here's my Follow Through report when the mural was unveiled at Cleveland Hopkins International Airport:
Thomas Cargill is the vice president of the North Coast Chapter of Tuskegee Airmen Inc. His father, Gilbert, was a primary flight instructor for Tuskegee.
He said his father’s stories gave him no choice but to keep them in the forefront, which is why he’s so proud of the Cleveland Heroes Project and its latest chapter, showcasing the students’ original artwork at the Cleveland History Center.
“We did not want this history just to be ignored,” Thomas said. “We wanted it be celebrated and to be commemorated. Cleveland had more airmen from our city than any other major U.S. city, and as a consequence of that, there’s a very special place that the airmen in Cleveland have in common.”
The accomplishments of the Tuskegee Airmen played a pivotal role in the eventual desegregation of the U.S. Armed Forces. Their fight against racism helped pave the way for President Harry Truman’s 1948 executive order that officially ended segregation in the military.
Thomas said the North Coast Chapter of Tuskegee Airmen works day in and day out to educate people about the role men and women played in military and civil rights history.
“I had a certain sense of duty that I needed to carry this legacy on to keep the history alive,” Thomas said. He (Gilbert) and his friends, they did a lot in regards to opening doors for African Americans, not only in the military… aviation and the military but also commercial airlines. They kicked in doors in regards to where integration was shunned… integration was stiff-armed. They still walked through those doors, and they walked through it with a high degree of dignity.”
The exhibition at the Cleveland History Center runs through April 30.
The North Coast Chapter of Tuskegee Airmen is working on special programming for youth to help expose as many people as possible to vocational and professional opportunities.
For more information, visit their website.
Damon Maloney is a Cuyahoga County and We Follow Through anchor at News 5 Cleveland. Follow him on X @DMaloneyTV, on Facebook DamonMaloneyTV or email him at Damon.Maloney@wews.com.
