The mission of Black Air Foundation is to introduce inner-city youth ages 13-15 to Aviation, Filmmaking, Radio and Television production.
Rhode Islanders celebrated Emancipation Day, marking the end of slavery in much of the British Empire, at Roger Williams Park in Providence, on August 1, 2010. (photo: nobidadetv.com) The following is from ProvidenceAmerican.com, August 19, 2010.
Another Day in the Park
Emancipation Day Celebration
"Together We Make A Difference" was the motto of this year's Emancipation Day Celebration at Roger Williams Park in Providence [Rhode Island].
Here in Providence, the emancipation of British West India that took place on the first day of August in 1834 is the basis for the annual celebration. Sponsors of this year's celebration join the community in the acknowledgement of the significance of the day. 
Historically Emancipation Day has been celebrated as far back as the 1840s. This day has been of very special notation to all people in bondage, because it was the first worldwide admission by Britain, world major power, that the rights of all humans cannot be ignored or denied. It was a day celebrated by those who championed the cause of freedom, and motivation to continue the struggle. 
While local organizers were not aware of the first celebration in Providence, the Rhode Island Black Heritage Society's research has records of celebration as far back as 1849.
This year's sponsors included the Emancipation Day Committee, Music One, JWU/Inter-Cultural Center, RI Historical and Heritage Commission, Sackett Street Recreation and WBRU 360, with special thanks to co-chairs of Emancipation Day Committee James (Buster) Clements and Terrell A. Osborne.
Each year the celebration highlights entertainment, food vendors, raffles and closing remarks by a member of the clergy. This years entertainment featured DJ Spin, Hot Spot Youth Ministry, Chops Turner, just to name a few.
The Negro (Black) National Anthem was sung by Sharon Mazyck to kick off the day. Food vendors sold fried fish, soul food from Food for the Soul restaurant, Dells Lemonade, and much more.
The Rhode Island National Guard had a presence in the form of a portable climbing wall for those mountain climbers in attendance.
Each year Emancipation Day is celebrated in African American communities around the United States and draws thousands to mark the notion of freedom especially for slaves in America at the time.
See you next year for Another Day In the Park at Emancipation Celebration Day 2011.
The Slavery Abolition Act 1833 ended slavery in the British Empire on August 1, 1834. British West Indian and other countries widely observe Emancipation Day during the first week of August, as noted below:
August 1: Barbados, Bermuda, Guyana, Jamaica, Trinidad and Tobogo
First Monday in August: Anguilla, Bahama, British Virgin Islands
August 7: Turks and Caicos Island
SOURCE: EmancipationDayRI.com
BLACK AIR FOUNDATION PARTICIPATES in the 4th Annual General Aviation Fun Day
Saturday, May 22, 2010
2010's 4th Annual General Aviation Fun Day was our most successful event to date!! The event was held from 10 AM - 4 PM at the New Bedford Regional Airport (KEWB). As always, there was something for everyone with static aircraft displays, flight demonstrations, food, and more.
The Buttonwood Zoo Choo was in attendance to give the kids a ride! A Helicopter Golf Ball Drop was held with prizes of up to $500. Tuskegee Airman, Mr. George S. Lima also attended the event. Airplane and helicopter rides were provided to the public for a small fee. The New Bedford Police K-9 unit was here doing demonstrations, as well as the New Bedford Fire Department’s Crash Truck. Flight Simulators were available for public use throughout the day. This event was co-hosted by the Atlantic Aviators Chapter of Women in Aviation, International, the New Bedford Regional Pilot’s Association, and the New Bedford Regional Airport. As always, admission was FREE but donations were welcome. Proceeds for this event helped benefit the Atlantic Aviators Scholarship Fund for area students interested in perusing aviation-related careers.
In case you missed the event, check out our slideshow below.
http://www.atlanticaviators.org/funday/
Halton
William P. Armstrong, a member of the famous African-American aviator’s unit called the Tuskegee Airmen, died while piloting his plane in Austria during World War II.
Navy Lt. Cdr. Paul Gurnon played such a vital role in establishing military installations on Antarctica in the 1950s that a peninsula there was named after him.
And Antoine Gazda, an enemy fighter ace for Austria in World War I, switched his loyalty to the United States in World War II when he came to Providence to share his secret blueprints for antiaircraft guns.
They are among a handful who were recognized Saturday night at the seventh-annual induction ceremonies for the Rhode Island Aviation Hall of Fame, held at the Varnum Armory in East Greenwich.
This year, seven with Rhode Island connections were inducted. In addition, the organization recognized 15 Rhode Islanders who participated in the Tuskegee Experiment, the Army Air Corps program that trained African-Americans to fly and maintain combat aircraft from 1941 to 1949.
Four of this year’s inductees are living, including guest speakers Jim Keck, a retired Air Force lieutenant general and former vice commander of the Strategic Air Command, and his son, Tom Keck, also a retired Air Force lieutenant general who commanded the 8th Air Force. They are the only father-and-son team to have each flown at Mach 3, three times the speed of sound, both in an SR-71 Blackbird.
The other living inductees are Gurnon, who received special recognition from the U.S. Geologic survey for his service in Antarctica in Operation Deep Freeze, and George Chakoian, who flew 46 combat missions in the Pacific as a radio operator and gunner and who served as a project engineer specializing in airborne delivery of equipment to war zones.
Three are being inducted posthumously, including Gazda, whose weaponry work was so sensitive that while living at the Biltmore Hotel, he was under guard 24 hours a day and had the door to the suite next door bricked up. The other is Providence-born Army pilot William Halton, who shot down 10 aircraft in World War II and died in action in Korea in 1952.
The ceremony also recognized 15 Rhode Islanders who were part of the Tuskegee air corps, as well as two from Massachusetts with ties to Rhode Island. The Hall Fame continues to work on developing a complete list.
“Despite all the publicity given to the Tuskegee Airmen, no one has yet developed a definitive list of Rhode Islanders who are eligible for that designation,” said Frank Lennon, founder of the hall of fame. “This is the first step in that direction, although we will be the first to admit this is a work in progress.”
In addition to Armstrong, Rhode Islanders include Charles M “Moe” Adams, of Providence, an aviation cadet; Alfred Steward Barclay, of Newport, an aviation cadet killed in a 1945 training crash; Victor Butler, of North Providence, a mechanic; Pedro Carvalho, of Providence, a B-25 gunner; Peter Coelho, of East Providence, an administrative clerk; Ralph H. Davis, of East Providence, a mechanic and instructor; and Walter S. Gladding, of Providence, a flight officer murdered in Virginia while on leave.
Others were Kenneth Gross, of Providence, an armorer and gunner; William E. Hill, of Narragansett, a pilot killed on a 1943 training flight; Andrew L. Jackson, of Providence, a gunner; George S. Lima, of Fall River and Providence, a photographic officer; Benjamin D. Metts, of Providence, a radioman; Oscar Suggs, of Newport, a professional boxer who served at an Army Air Force base at Lockbourne; and Herman Wells, of Providence, a communications specialist.
The two from Massachusetts are Jack D. Bryant, of Boston, an aviation cadet who heads Bryant Associates, a Lincoln engineering firm, and James W. McLaurin, of Weymouth, a flight engineer whose daughter is an associate dean at Brown University.
Saturday, Nov 21, 2009
http://www.projo.com/news/content/TUSKEGEE_AIRMEN_11-22-09_73GH0FD_v18.34616d3.html
| Host: | Black Air Foundation |
| Type: | |
| Price: | $15 Singles - $25 Couples |
| Date: | Sunday, September 27, 2009 |
| Time: | 2:00pm - 6:00pm |
| Location: | Cape Verdean Progressive Club |
| Street: | 329 Grosvenor Avenue |
| City/Town: | East Providence, RI |
| Phone: | 4014518626 |
| Email: |
