Black Air Foundation promotional video

The mission of the Black Air Foundation is to introduce inner-city youth ages 13-15 to aviation, filmmaking, and radio and television production.



Visit our webste: www.blackairfoundation.org

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 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 Foundation-Tuskegee airmen helping kids to fly

Tuskegee airmen helping kids to fly

Tuesday, 01 April 2008

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.”

Black Air wishes to thank everyone who came out to support our fundraiser event on March 20, 2008.

Slideshow photos courtesy of: CVN News

Jim VIncent, Geor S. Lima, Keith Stokes

Still photos courtesy of The Times

Chops Turner

photos courtesy of The Times