|  Herman Wells, Lemuel Fuller and George Lima BY VINAYA SAKSENA EAST PROVIDENCE — A former state representative who served in a history-making group of military pilots during World War II is now trying to give young people an opportunity to fly- literally and otherwise. During that historic war, George S. Lima was one of the Tuskegee Airmen, the first-ever group of African American military pilots. Said to have included the only fighter group that never lost a bomber under its watch, the group came to life when the 99th Fighter Squadron was formed at the Tuskegee Institute, a Tuskegee, Alabama-based university founded by Booker T. Washington. The Tuskegee Airmen made history in part because they managed to meet standards for admission allegedly designed to keep black men from serving as military pilots.
“They didn’t believe we were qualified to fly an airplane,” Lima remembered. “(But) I had a pilot’s license before I had a driver’s license.”
Adding insult to injury, Lima found that even after returning home from service, some would still refuse to even serve him a soda in a public establishment. In a way, this experience was symbolic of what Lima and other black pilots of the World War II era had to undergo to advance in society. He allegedly was unable to find better work after graduating from Brown University than he had held beforehand. He ended up rising through union ranks, while participating in various social justice efforts throughout the ensuing decades.
Today, Lima is the president and CEO of the Black Air Foundation, a non-profit group dedicated to helping other organizations — such as the Lambert Lima Flying Squadron Cadet Program — in their efforts to help minority youth.
Specifically, Lima and his associates hope to spark interest in aviation and related vocations among young people by giving them the opportunity to fly.
“Our goal is to get them interested in aviation as a career,” Lima explained. “But we also expose them to radio, television and documentary filmmaking.”
The latter element is handled by a fellow Black Air Foundation Board of Directors member known as Napoleon X, a documentary filmmaker, musician and music producer also based in East Providence. X said he was approached by another board of directors member, Marlene Britto, about the possibility of making a film about Lima.
He said he did not need much convincing of Lima’s worthiness as subject matter.
“What got me was the fact that even after all the things he’s done, you could find people who said, ‘oh, he (helped) me on a personal level,’” X said.
“He actually got involved with people on a one to one basis, which to me is very impressive.”
The result of X’s work on Lima’s history was the documentary film Black Men Can Fly: The Story of George S. Lima. The film was broadcast on PBS television, and has since led to a series. X, who is also working on a documentary on rap group Wu Tang Clan, said the film ended up having slightly different meanings for Lima and himself. Lima, he said, seemed to see the film as a literal documentary, while X said he viewed it as a metaphor- implying the possibility that the future could hold greater things in store for black men and other minorities who dared to dream and worked hard to fulfill their dreams. He pointed out that the name of the foundation stemmed from its roots in the experience of the Tuskegee Airmen, and not any bias for or against any particular race.
“It’s called Black Air, but it’s not just a black thing,” X said. “We’re not limited (by) color or race or any of that stuff.”
Participants in the cadet program are given the experience of flying in a plane with help from Frank Moreau, a Lincoln resident who has lent his time and his plane to the program for this purpose. X said that having flown with Moreau and his pupils, he had seen the positive effect the program was having, and could verify that it was a cause well worth supporting.
“You could see it in their faces,” he said. “Most of these kids have never been on an airplane before. It’s changed their lives. That’s a priceless sight.” |
Reflections on Race and Sport in America. A panel discussion at Brown University on April 14,'08
