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Gray Library Exhibit Features Dempsey Nelson, Jr., a Tuskegee Airman, and Father of Lamar Alum, Dempsey Nelson, III

The recent movie, Red Tails, tells the story of the Tuskegee Airmen, the first African-American pilots in U.S. history. An exhibit in the library lobby, created by Penny Clark and Charlotte Holliman, highlights the life of one of the airmen, Dempsey Nelson, Jr., who was the father of Lamar alum, Dempsey Nelson III, who shared the photos with the library.

The Tuskegee Airmen endured both the prejudice in American society at that time and the horrors of aerial battle, but persevered and made groundbreaking contributions, which both helped to end the war in Europe and to change attitudes toward African-Americans’ role in the military.

Dempsey Nelson, Jr. Tuskegee Airman Exhibit Dempsey Nelson, Jr. Tuskegee Airman Gray Library Tuskegee Exhibit

Wings for This Man

Army Air Forces Special Film Project Number 151, 1945

Wings for this Man was produced in 1945 by the U.S. Army Air Forces First Motion Picture Unit about the Tuskegee Airmen, the first unit of African-American pilots in the U.S. military. Trivia: The narrator of this film was a young actor named Ronald Reagan, who later became the 40th President of the United States serving from 1981 to 1989.


Negro Colleges in War Time

U.S. Office of War Information, Bureau of Motion Pictures, ca. 1944

Negro Colleges in War Time is a U.S. Office of War Information film produced in 1943 to demonstrate how historically black colleges were contributing to the war effort in the education and training of African Americans, although little is mentioned of the racial oppression still faced by African Americans at home. The film begins with the Tuskegee Institute, highlighting the schools many war time programs including aviation, engineering and other critical areas. The Tuskegee section of the film includes footage of famous scientist and Tuskegee faculty member George Washington Carver, whose war time work in agriculture and food production was of great value to the war effort. Other institutions such as Howard University and Prairie View College are shown training black doctors, nurses and scientists. This film also includes the important role black women performed during World War II, training for jobs in war manufacturing, agriculture, and mechanics.


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Last Updated: February 7, 2012