Hartford Foundation for Public Giving to Support "Untold Story" of Tuskegee Airmen

Members of the Black Giving Circle Fund at the Hartford Foundation for Public Giving, after considering a wide variety of programs aimed at supporting Greater Hartford’s Black community, chose three proposals to receive financial support in the coming year, including a  project to educate students about the challenges and successes of the Tuskegee Airmen.

The Black Giving Circle Fund awarded a $10,000 grant to the New England Air Museum to support the creation of a permanent exhibit called The Tuskegee Airmen: Their Untold Stories!

Working with the children of Tuskegee Airmen, the museum will tell their stories and detail the hardships they endured. The exhibit will also highlight the efforts of three women, without whose involvement, the Tuskegee Program might never have started.

The exhibit will display the racism, segregation, and obstacles they overcame to fly in the war as well as the bigotry they experienced when they returned home. The Black Giving Circle funding will support outreach to local schools and provide students with opportunities to learn about how the airmen persevered despite the number of obstacles they faced.

“Red Tails” was a nickname given to the Tuskegee Airmen during their time in service during World War II. It evolved from the bomber pilots referring to their Tuskegee Airmen fighter escorts as Red Tail Angels because of their reputation and record for keeping the bombers safe on their dangerous missions over enemy territory.

Over the course of the war, the Tuskegee Airmen flew 1,578 missions and 15,533 sorties, destroyed 261 enemy aircraft, and won more than 850 medals.  Their ranks included individuals from Connecticut, including Hartford’s Connie Nappier Jr., whose daughter Denise served two decades as Connecticut’s State Treasurer.  Connie Nappier died in 2016.

A week ago, the New England Air Museum honored three Tuskegee Airmen: George E. Hardy, Lt. Col., USAF (ret), Harry T. Stewart Jr., Lt. Col., USAF (ret) and Enoch “Woody” Woodhouse II, Lt. Col., USAF (ret) who are now 96, 97 and 98 years of age, respectively.  Each spoke about his experiences at a well-attended event, as described in a Hartford Courant op-ed by Dwight Bachman.  Lt. Col. Stewart, now 98, flew more than 40 combat missions in the European Theater and was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross.

“You’ll find out the legacy of the Tuskegee Airmen, who were they? They were extraordinary to begin. They were extraordinarily accomplished. What do we mean they fought two wars: one against the Germans at that time. The other against racism,” Stephanie Abrams, president & CEO of New England Air Museum told NBC Connecticut this fall. 

The two other grants will go to support programs to provide career training and coaching for young Black women, and a program using art to engage and develop youth. A $10,000 grant will go to The Amistad Center for Art and Culture to support “The Amistad Center Teen Arts Advocates,” and a $10,000 grant will go to Girls With Impact, Inc. to support its “Advancing Black Women in Hartford” program to help underwrite and train five young Black women, ages 14-24, including participation in a 10-week Business and Leadership Academy.

The grant to the New England Air Museum is the second Hartford Foundation grant they have received to support the Tuskegee Airmen exhibit; the museum also received a $50,000 Access Grant.

The Hartford Foundation for Public Giving is the community foundation for Hartford and 28 surrounding towns. Through partnerships, the Foundation seeks to strengthen communities in Greater Hartford by putting philanthropy in action to dismantle structural racism and achieve equity in social and economic mobility. Additional information on these grants is available at www.hfpg.org/blackgivingcircle.