Black Air Foundation- Ex-rep helps youths reach for the sky

Black Air Foundaion- Ex-rep helps youths reach for the sky

Tuesday, 25 November 2008

BY VINAYA SAKSENA PROVIDENCE — A local non-profit organization started by a former state representative from East Providence has graduated a dozen more young cadets from a program intended to encourage minority youth to aim high — literally and figuratively. On Saturday, November 8, the Black Air Foundation held a graduation ceremony in Providence for twelve youths who recently completed the Lambert-Lima Flying Squadron’s cadet program. An after-school program co-founded by former State Representative and World War II-era military pilot George S. Lima, the squadron is intended to introduce minority youth to aviation and the related communication technologies, with participants taking part in a plane flight before the program’s end. When the latest group of cadets graduated, Lima was on hand to congratulate them, as was his son, Robert M. Lima. In addressing the audience, the elder Lima expressed pride in having been able to start a program that appeared to be helping disadvantaged youths stay on the right track, noting that the prospect of entering the field of aviation or a related profession seemed capable of motivating students toward higher academic achievement. “A lot of times, we’re losing kids to the streets,” Lima said. “And programs like this help to (steer) them toward something worthwhile.” Several of the program’s new graduates agreed. The participants, high school and middle school students from Providence, said the program encouraged them to think about life and career possibilities they might not have been exposed to otherwise. “I think we get a good learning experience out of it,” said Marlon Ford. “It shows how many (things) you can do.” “It keeps us off of the street,” added Eric Oladapo. “It helps us stay out of trouble, you know?” “It was fun when we went up in the plane,” said Joann McDowell. “We saw all different places. It was a good experience. It taught me a lot about black aviators.” Past graduates of the cadet program were also in attendance, including Tom Gaines of Warwick, who participated in the program last year. Now finishing high school and looking forward to college, Gaines looked back fondly on the experience he shared with others his age, also noting that it looked good on his resume. And while he had not opted to study in an aviation-related field, he said he had benefited from the program, and a career choice was beginning to crystallize in his mind. “I’m thinking about exercise science,” Gaines said. “I just like working out with the football team and seeing how your muscles work.” George S. Lima has said in the past that during his military days, with racial segregation still in full force, there was extensive resistance to black men flying fighter planes. And despite not even being afforded the courtesy of being served a beer in some establishments after serving in the war, Lima said he continued to serve his community in various ways in the ensuing years, eventually choosing flying as the focal point for his endeavors with the Black Air Foundation. Conditions for minorities in the United States have improved considerably since Lima’s days in Tuskegee, as evidenced by the recent election of the country’s first African-American President in Barack Obama. The significance of this event was not lost on the graduation audience, who cheered when Black Air Foundation Board member Ernest K. Faison mentioned the election results. “Don’t ever, ever, ever not believe in your dreams,” Faison advised the graduates. “Because if you believe it, you can achieve it.” http://www.pawtuckettimes.com/content/view/58188/27/

Black Air Foundation-Helping dreams to take flight

Helping dreams to take flight
01:00 AM EST on Sunday, November 9, 2008

By Tatiana Pina - Journal Staff Writer

PROVIDENCE — Brigham Middle School student Leon-i Taylor has a high squeaky voice that gets higher as she describes the first time she flew on an airplane two weeks ago.

“The cars were so little they looked like people from up there,” she said. “I saw all kinds of colors.”

Taylor and 11 classmates took part in the Lambert-Lima Flying Squadron Cadets, a program designed to introduce minority students to careers in aviation, filmmaking, television and radio. Yesterday, the students graduated from the program in a ceremony at the John Hope Settlement House.

The aviation squadron was started two years ago by George S. Lima, 89, a member of the Tuskegee Airmen, the first group of black fighter and bomber pilots in the history of the U.S. Air Corps. Their performance during World War II dispelled reservations in Washington about the ability of black airmen to fly military planes.

Lima, who attended the graduation, said he started the program because it’s important for young people to know that aviation can be a career for them. He spoke to the class about his experiences as an airman during a time when blacks were segregated from whites. The program is run by the Black Air Foundation with a grant from the Annie E. Casey Foundation and other donations.

Students also visited a radio station and a television station. They visited the Quonset Air Museum. Pilot Frank Moreau took the students for a flight in his four-passenger plane. Moreau told the students they had to study hard because they need good grades to be accepted to a pilot school. For some students it was their first time flying.

Cayes DelPeche, 15, a student at Times2 Academy, had never been on an airplane before but the thought of sharing a flight far above the earth with a friend appealed to him.

“I was interested in flying, becoming a pilot,” he said. “I could see taking my family or kids someday. We went 5,000 feet up in the air. I saw Rhode Island and Massachusetts. We passed by Gillette Stadium.”

DelPeche said he had not been aware that black pilots had struggled so much. “I knew people had struggled to vote and with busing but I never knew they had to struggle to fly an airplane,” he said.

Chad Walton, a student at Providence County Day School, said the class gave him a peek at a possible career. He said flying in a plane and his visit to the Quonset museum inspired him. He was considering volunteering to help paint some of the planes at the museum.

Ernest K. Faison, a member of the Black Air Foundation board, told the students that the events of the past few days should serve as an inspiration for them to follow their dreams.

“I’m sure George Lima did not believe that he would see in his life what happened Tuesday when Barack Obama was elected president. What I’m saying to you is don’t ever not believe in your dreams. If you believe it, you can achieve it.”

tpina@projo.com

http://www.projo.com/news/content/FLYING_SQUADRON_11-09-08_U0C7BOR_v33.32257d3.html

Black Air Foundation-Cadets take to the air

On Tuesday, November 04, 2008, cadets (l-r) Marlon Ford, Eric Oladapo, and Cayes Delpeche ready to take to the air for their first flight at North Central State Airport, Lincoln, RI

(Pictured below is pilot Frank Moreau)

On this day, election day '08, another person also reached for the sky to become President elect Barack Obama.

Black Air Foundation-Visiting the RI Quonset Air Museum

Saturday, November 01, 2008
Cadets visiting the Rhode Island Quonset Air Museum
Rhode Island Quonset Air Museum

The museum has a large and valuable collection of aircraft, aircraft parts, and other historical artifacts. The 28 aircraft currently on display or under restoration include civilian, military and prototype aircraft dating from 1944 (Hellcat under restoration) to 1983 (F-14 Tomcat).
And the last aircraft to fly from Quonset NAS, a C-1A COD BU#136792 a one of a kind TWIN TAIL Navy transport.

Address:
488 Eccleston Ave., North Kingstown, RI 02852
Phone: 401-294-9540
Email: info@theqam.org
Website: http://www.theqam.org

Hours:
* Winter Hours: Saturday, Sunday From: October through March
* Gladly except groups or special visits by appointment, contact QAM for information.
* Summer Hours: Open Everday from 10:00 AM to 3:00 PM April through September
* Closed on Easter, Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Years Day

Admission
* General: $7.00
* Military (Current uniform members serving with ID): Free
* Children under 12: $3.00
* Seniors 65+: $6.00
* Group Rates Available

Black Air Foundation invites the public to attend The Lambert-Lima Flying Squadron cadet graduation in Providence

Black Air Foundation invites the public to attend The Lambert-Lima Flying Squadron cadet graduation in Providence

01:00 AM EDT on Thursday, October 23, 2008

The Lambert-Lima Flying Squadron introduces boys and girls, ages 13 to 15, to radio, TV, filmmaking and aviation as a career choice, which includes an actual airplane flight. The graduation ceremony celebration will be held on Saturday, Nov. 8, from 1 to 2:30 p.m. at the John Hope Settlement House, 7 Thomas P. Whitten Way.

The event will feature a film about cadets in flight and an all original cadet poster exhibit. Complimentary refreshments will be served.

The Black Air Foundation is dedicated to empowering minority youths through education and training. For information, call Marlene Britto at (401) 451-8626 or visit www.blackairfoundation.org.

http://www.projo.com/ri/providence/content/me_10-23-08_TIC1478_v44.126037c.html

Black Air Foundaion- Brown University Alumni Association awards George S. Lima

Brown University Alumni Association awards George S. Lima
The John Hope Award for Public Service

The John Hope Award, co-sponsored by the Brown Alumni Association and the Swearer Center for Public Service, is named for the 1894 African-American alumnus who dedicated his life to education and community service. With this award, the BAA honors a graduate whose commitment to public service exemplifies leadership, innovation, and a direct impact on the community. The honoree may be a professional whose career is dedicated to public service or a volunteer devoted to public service or social action.

Special note: From 2003 – 2005, due to the extraordinarily high quality of nominations of very young alumni for this award, the John Hope Award selection committee also recognized a number of these nominees with the Young Alumni Service Award. Their names are included in the list below with the designation "YASA".

(Click on a name for more information on the recipient.)

2008 Recipient: George Lima ’48
one of World War II’s famous Tuskegee Airmen, a lifelong activist and public servant.

John Hope Award for Public Service: George Lima ’48

In April 1945, as a member of the U.S. Army’s 477th Bombardment Group, George Lima was one of 60 black Air Corps officers arrested for trying to enter a white officer’s club at Freeman Field in Indiana – a courageous and potentially dangerous decision for a military officer. But this incident proved to be decisive in the Army’s move to integrate its clubs and was a turning point on the road toward the full integration of the military just three years later. As it turns out, this was only one in a series of courageous actions George Lima would take in a lifetime of commitment to civil rights.

The son of immigrants from Cape Verde, Lima first attended NC A&T State College, and served with the legendary Tuskegee Airmen in World War II. Enrolling at Brown after the war, he chose to study sociology in part to try to understand the segregation and discrimination he had witnessed and experienced. After graduation, despite his military service and Brown degree, the only work he could find was as a shipping clerk. But with characteristic determination, he went on to serve as a union representative and organizer, then as an administrator with the War on Poverty and VISTA in Washington.

Returning to Providence, he served as president of the local NAACP and as a Rhode Island state representative – using both positions to continue his fight for civil rights. And the passage of time has not diminished his drive for change. Just a few years ago, now in his 80s, he founded the Black Air Foundation to create programs empowering minority youth through education and training.

Black Air Foundation-Board of Directors

Black Air Foundaion-

The members of the Board of Directors—are involved with programming respective to their expertise and experience in the fields of aviation, radio, television and filmmaking.

Board Members:

Hon. George S. Lima, Thomas P. Whitten, Napoleon X, Marlene Britto, Robert Lima, Hon. George A. Castro, Jim Vincent, Ron Alves, Ernest Faison, Robert Bailey