Tuskegee Airmen From Lincoln University

As the U.S. anticipated entering WWII, it established Civil Pilot Training programs at universities and airfields, including Lincoln University. Join author Michelle Brooks to learn about Lincoln University’s military alumni who helped influence desegregation in the military and continued to break racial barriers thereafter. Books will be available for sale and signing. Adults & teens.

As the U.S. anticipated entering World War II, it addressed the need for experienced pilots by establishing Civil Pilot Training (CPT) programs at universities and airfields. Only a handful of now historically Black colleges and universities were selected, since no military arm existed at the time for African Americans in aviation. Lincoln University was the only site training Black pilots west of the Mississippi River. These CPT programs led to the creation of the US Army Air Corps' segregated unit, commonly known as the Tuskegee Airmen.

The Lincoln CPT program trained 50 pilots before the war began. Most of them went on to some form of military service, more than half in U.S. Army Air Corps. Three of these men flew combat missions in Europe. Capt. Wendell Pruitt was an acclaimed acrobatic flyer from St. Louis. Capt. Richard Pullam became a squadron commander before the military was desegregated. And Lt. Wilbur Long spent the end of the war as a prisoner of war in Poland. Several ground crew also made impressive contributions, like Sgt. Clovis Bordeaux, the first Lincolnite to join the U.S. Army Air Corps, eventually becoming a rocket scientist for Hughes Aircraft.

At this presentation by author and researcher Michelle Brooks, you'll learn about some of Lincoln University’s military alumni who helped influence desegregation in the military and continued to break racial barriers after their service.

Michelle Brooks has been studying the local history of Jefferson City and Lincoln University for more than 20 years, first as a reporter for the Jefferson City News Tribune and today as a published author. Her books include "The Jefferson City Civil Pilots: From Lincoln University to Tuskegee Airmen," "Hidden History of Jefferson City" and "Lost Jefferson City" with The History Press, and "Interesting Women of the Capital City" and "Buried Jefferson City History" through Kindle Direct Publishing. She is a research analyst at the Missouri State Archives.

Books will be available for sale and signing following the presentation.

Adults and teens.

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