After my brief foray into the world of photo essays I came to one cliché, yet all too true conclusions. It's a lot harder than it looks. I didn't initially think that the grown up version of a photo book would be all that difficult to put together, until I attempted to sit down and do it myself. I think I had the most difficulty choosing a topic that I'd be able to find at least 5 pictures for that I could connect and be able to tell a little history about each and how it plays into the topic. I tried to stray away from topics that I already had strong backgrounds in but it came to a point that denying my previous knowledge and acting as a complete newbie to some topics only lead to frustrations when trying to set up a lay-out for the essay.
The Montgomery Bus Boycott was far from my first topic, but after many failed attempts to being too creative for my own good I settled on a topic I knew I'd be able to meet all the requirements. Even then this was far from an easy process. Finding the right pictures and verify who’s in them and when they were taken was a bit of a tedious process but I respect the necessity of it.
On the positive side when all is said and done I believe I’ve put together a brief yet informative summary of a major turning point in American society in a non-typical manner that is easy for all ages and education levels to follow. An online photo essay is one of the fewer types of internet publications that are able to cross the gap in terms of audience receptivity. For someone with no background in the subject this photo essay serves as an informative jumping off point, and for someone who already has knowledge in the subject they are able to view 5 relevant pictures in one place saving them the trip of having to scour the vast internet to pull each photograph individually.
Wednesday, March 21, 2007
The Montgomery Bus Boycott: A Story in Pictures
The Montgomery Bus Boycott was an effort by Montgomery, Alabama, blacks to end segregation on city buses by boycotting the vehicles that occurred from December 5, 1955 to December 20, 1956. At the time city ordinances requires blacks to ride in designated sections in the rear of buses and to give up their seat to the request of a white person. There was also rampant violent treatment of African Americans by white city bus drivers.
This first photo is the inside of an empty Montgomery City Bus courtesy of Africanaonline (www.africanaonline.com/Graphic/rosa_parks_bus.gif)
This first photo is the inside of an empty Montgomery City Bus courtesy of Africanaonline (www.africanaonline.com/Graphic/rosa_parks_bus.gif)
The final catalyst leading up to the Boycott was the arrest of Rosa Parks, forty-two-year-old black seamstress and former secretary of local NAACP, for refusing to surrender her seat on a Montgomery bus to a white male passenger on December 1, 1955. She was exactly the type of person that black leaders were waiting for to violate the Jim Crow laws to launch a massive campaign behind
This photo is of Rosa Parks being fingerprinted after her arrest on December 1, 1955. Courtesy of Wikipedia (http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/d/d2/Rosaparksarrested.jpeg/225px-Rosaparksarrested.jpeg)
This photo is of Rosa Parks being fingerprinted after her arrest on December 1, 1955. Courtesy of Wikipedia (http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/d/d2/Rosaparksarrested.jpeg/225px-Rosaparksarrested.jpeg)
Finally with a respectable figure, E.D Nixon began organizing with other black leaders to begin a boycott of the Montgomery Municipal buses. What grew from a one day-day boycott extended until the city met the demands of the Montgomery Improvement Association. It also was the first place for Martin Luther King Jr to articulate his philosophy of nonviolent protest and gain experience using black church networks for strategy and motivational speeches.
Pictured here African American women walk along the sidewalk during a bus boycott in Montgomery, Ala., in February, 1956. Courtesy of USA today
(http://images.usatoday.com/news/_photos/2005/11/29/montgomery-inside.jpg)
Pictured here African American women walk along the sidewalk during a bus boycott in Montgomery, Ala., in February, 1956. Courtesy of USA today
(http://images.usatoday.com/news/_photos/2005/11/29/montgomery-inside.jpg)
This was not an easy road however. Several leaders of the boycott were arrested for causing disturbances and threatened with serious jail-time. Even some of the homes of boycott leaders were fire-bombed by white-extremists during the course of the boycott.
This next photo is of Martin Luther King Jr. on February 4, 1956 giving a speech about non-violence and urging peace from his porch despite his home just being fire-bombed. As provided by Corbis Corporation (http://pro.corbis.com/popup/Enlargement.aspx?mediauids=%7b6e11ed9f-a183-4e57-acc2-d7227c9b074d%7d%7bffffffff-ffff-ffff-ffff-ffffffffffff%7d&qsPageNo=1&fdid=&Area=Search&TotalCount=43&CurrentPos=18&WinID=%7b6e11ed9f-a183-4e57-acc2-d7227c9b074d%7d)
This next photo is of Martin Luther King Jr. on February 4, 1956 giving a speech about non-violence and urging peace from his porch despite his home just being fire-bombed. As provided by Corbis Corporation (http://pro.corbis.com/popup/Enlargement.aspx?mediauids=%7b6e11ed9f-a183-4e57-acc2-d7227c9b074d%7d%7bffffffff-ffff-ffff-ffff-ffffffffffff%7d&qsPageNo=1&fdid=&Area=Search&TotalCount=43&CurrentPos=18&WinID=%7b6e11ed9f-a183-4e57-acc2-d7227c9b074d%7d)
King was also charged and convicted for his role in the bus boycotts. However he took the conviction proudly and it was widely celebrated. This would be the first of many King arrests in his life of non-violent protest. The boycott would continue until the decision of federal district court, affirmed by the U.S. Supreme Court, declaring segregation on municipal buses unconstitutional, December 1956 (Browder v. Gayle).
The final photo is of Coretta Scott King, Martin Luther King Jr. and several others celebrating his conviction on March 23, 1956 in front of the Montgomery Courthouse. Courtesy of Corbis Corporation (http://pro.corbis.com/popup/Enlargement.aspx?mediauids={a2ca535a-94ef-44c7-8514-9d4ba4604896}{ffffffff-ffff-ffff-ffff-ffffffffffff}&qsPageNo=1&fdid=&Area=Search&TotalCount=43&CurrentPos=9&WinID={a2ca535a-94ef-44c7-8514-9d4ba4604896})
Wednesday, March 7, 2007
The History of Psychology Web Site Review
For my in-depth website review, I chose to analyze the University of Dayton’s History of Psychology Web Site (http://elvers.udayton.edu/history/welcome.htm). At first glance I thought I had found a wall-laid out and interactive archive of information that ranged all throughout the ages from ancient Greek philosophers to modern psychologists. However, after further review I was left with mixed feelings about a website that serves as little more than an index to other websites. However, in the grand scheme of legitimate internet research we must keep in mind that, while some researchers may have been disappointed by the lack of on-site original resources, someone who is just beginning their research and is hoping to be pointed in the right direction can find a litany of beginner resources to help them form ideas on their own research. The site can serve as a cross between a teaching resource, and a conglomeration of outside Electronic Essay/Exhibit’s.
From a pure content standpoint it’s difficult to truly gauge the strength of the content of the site because for the most part all the site really does is link to other sites that actually have the content. That being said, the majority of the links go to sites of other universities and scholarly sites that have good reputations. The Dayton site remains very neutral in its essentially non-existing opinion on the matters it focuses on. The only part of the website which really reflects their opinion is the division and grouping of topics by categories. Some of the links do not function correctly but these were few and far between. Even the interpretations taken by the sites linked to by the page maintain a relatively neutral, biographical stance on the people the site is focused on
The web site itself is very clearly laid out and easy to navigate as should hopefully be expected from a website that navigates researchers from their site to a site with the information they are searching for. The design of the site is nothing groundbreaking or particularly beautiful, but it is effective and to the point, which plays strong to those who want more focus on content then just the look and feel of the site. While the site claims that some sections of the site are only available to Ohio LINK member institutions, the majority of the sites are accessible to all users. The structure of the website is organized into 5 index schemes of people by birth date, people by birth date; people alphabetically, categories, library resources, and trivia.
The website is quite clear on who its audience is, to the point where it even states on its homepage that it is “a gateway for teachers and students to over 1000 World Wide Web resources related to the history of psychology”. If viewed from a standpoint of whether it will serve this audience, it most likely will. I base that opinion on the website meaning high school teachers and students (predominantly AP/IB classes). Judging by the difficulty of the content of the website, it would not be sufficient for most college and post graduate studies research, but it would suit most high school research efforts.
In terms of new media, The History of Psychology Web Site doesn’t do a whole lot out of the ordinary that couldn’t be accomplished in other media. However, I don’t believe the point of this particular website is display history through innovative methods of technology. Boiled down to its basis, the website is a gathering of links, organized by a person or topic, to facilitate beginning research on more advanced topics. When looking at the site through this lens, it is very difficult to find any area in which it is appropriate, or even possible to use new media. This website saves researchers a trip to a cumbersome library filled with dead ends and a weak filing system.
Wednesday, February 21, 2007
My Internet Valentine's Day Experience
My experience searching for the history of Valentine’s Day using solely non-academic internet resource was an interesting one. It took some doing to completely remove the idea of credited resources from my head and write a brief essay based on facts that I have no real idea of where they are coming from or if any of them are verified by a legitimate source. After wading through several of these websites I selected a few that we thought to be at least not completely nonsensical and shared some common themes and ideas. At first I was frustrated by the lack of a concrete story of why Valentine’s Day is celebrated and blamed mostly these internet sites for not being serious sites that took time to verify the information that was posted on them. But then after reading through them some more, I noticed that the reason it was so difficult to find a concrete answer as the history of Valentine’s day is because there is no concrete answer or history as to the history of it in real life.
All of these stories have some variation of a Father Valentine and his opposition with Emperor Claudius and his eventual imprisonment. The internet and these sites themselves can’t be held responsible for a lack of solid historical information when there is no solid historical information to be found anywhere. Valentine’s Day is more of a legend or realistic tall-tale and therefore its historic content is near impossible to verify. Once I came to that conclusion the rest of my experience researching and writing the essay was more focused on keeping track of and organizing the many different variations of the story. But even with that, the fact that there are so many variations with many similar parts and events only leads to the credibility of the stories of Valentine’s Day’s history.
All of these stories have some variation of a Father Valentine and his opposition with Emperor Claudius and his eventual imprisonment. The internet and these sites themselves can’t be held responsible for a lack of solid historical information when there is no solid historical information to be found anywhere. Valentine’s Day is more of a legend or realistic tall-tale and therefore its historic content is near impossible to verify. Once I came to that conclusion the rest of my experience researching and writing the essay was more focused on keeping track of and organizing the many different variations of the story. But even with that, the fact that there are so many variations with many similar parts and events only leads to the credibility of the stories of Valentine’s Day’s history.
History of Valentine's Day
February 14th. The mere date can invoke feelings of love and passion, or despair and loneliness. But for such a celebrated holiday that’s capable of running the full gamut of emotions for different people worldwide, there is a less than uniform explanation of why the day is celebrated and its historical roots, unlike other holidays like Passover and Easter which have a much clearer historical cause for their celebration. After taking to the World Wide Web in the hope for a clear understanding of the history of Valentines Day I realized that the information I had found was as varied as the websites themselves. While there was far from an exact or conclusive history many of the websites included similar themes and information.
Throughout the majority of the website there was an emphasis of some variation of the story of a Roman Catholic priest named Father Valentine and his disagreement with Emperor Claudius II. Claudius the Cruel believe that married men did not make for good soldiers (www.wikipedia.com), as opposed to bachelors with no families. Therefore he ordered that all young men remained single in an effort to expand his army and continue with the bloody and unpopular campaigns he was famous for (http://www.pictureframes.co.uk/pages/saint_valentine.htm). Father Valentine however refused to follow this order and began marrying young catholic men in secret.
Throughout the majority of the website there was an emphasis of some variation of the story of a Roman Catholic priest named Father Valentine and his disagreement with Emperor Claudius II. Claudius the Cruel believe that married men did not make for good soldiers (www.wikipedia.com), as opposed to bachelors with no families. Therefore he ordered that all young men remained single in an effort to expand his army and continue with the bloody and unpopular campaigns he was famous for (http://www.pictureframes.co.uk/pages/saint_valentine.htm). Father Valentine however refused to follow this order and began marrying young catholic men in secret.
In another variation of this story he is aided by Saint Marius in his secret marriage efforts (http://www.pictureframes.co.uk/pages/saint_valentine.htm). In that variation Father Valentine is captured and put before the Prefect of Rome who condemns him to death by clubbing and decapitation. He is killed on February 14th, 270.
In another variation after Father Valentine is arrested and jailed but has several meetings with Claudius and attempted to convert the Emperor to the Catholic faith. This did not sit well with the emperor and was sentenced to death. Before his death he fell in love with the blind daughter of his jailor and just before he was put to death he sent her a small card and signed it “From your Valentine” (www.wikipedia.com). Another story believed that while Father Valentine was imprisoned, people would leave him little notes, folded up and hidden in cracks in the rocks around his cell. He would find them and offer prayers for them.
One version starts back even further and believes that Valentine’s day comes from the Roman Pagan holiday’s to honor Juno the Queen of Women and Marriage (February 14th) and the Feast of Lupercalia (February 15th) (http://www.infoplease.com/spot/valentinesdayhistory.html). During these times little boys and girls had very little interaction. On the eve of the festival of Lupercalia the names of Roman girls were written on slips of paper and placed into jars. Each young man would draw a girl's name from the jar and would then be partners for the whole festival with the girl whom he chose. For many the pairing ended in eventual love and marriage. Because of this day Emperor Claudius chose to outlaw marriages and engagement. Then the story continues into one of the previously listed variations.
It should also be noted that despite its deeply historical backgrounds from the ages of the roman empire, according to www.wikipedia.com, there are those, especially in the United States that believe that Valentine’s day is nothing more than a “Hallmark Holiday” along with Secretary’s Day, and Father’s Day. This also stems from the fact that according to http://www.history.com/minisites/valentine/minisites/valentine/viewPage?pageId=884, they state that the Greeting Card Association believes an estimated billion valentine cards are sent each year, making Valentine's Day the second largest card-sending holiday of the year. (An estimated 2.6 billion cards are sent for Christmas).
While most websites take some interpretation and spin it one way or another major theme of Father Valentine and Emperor Claudius II’s decree outlawing marriage and the events that follow seem to be the most agreed upon information for the basis for the holiday.
In another variation after Father Valentine is arrested and jailed but has several meetings with Claudius and attempted to convert the Emperor to the Catholic faith. This did not sit well with the emperor and was sentenced to death. Before his death he fell in love with the blind daughter of his jailor and just before he was put to death he sent her a small card and signed it “From your Valentine” (www.wikipedia.com). Another story believed that while Father Valentine was imprisoned, people would leave him little notes, folded up and hidden in cracks in the rocks around his cell. He would find them and offer prayers for them.
One version starts back even further and believes that Valentine’s day comes from the Roman Pagan holiday’s to honor Juno the Queen of Women and Marriage (February 14th) and the Feast of Lupercalia (February 15th) (http://www.infoplease.com/spot/valentinesdayhistory.html). During these times little boys and girls had very little interaction. On the eve of the festival of Lupercalia the names of Roman girls were written on slips of paper and placed into jars. Each young man would draw a girl's name from the jar and would then be partners for the whole festival with the girl whom he chose. For many the pairing ended in eventual love and marriage. Because of this day Emperor Claudius chose to outlaw marriages and engagement. Then the story continues into one of the previously listed variations.
It should also be noted that despite its deeply historical backgrounds from the ages of the roman empire, according to www.wikipedia.com, there are those, especially in the United States that believe that Valentine’s day is nothing more than a “Hallmark Holiday” along with Secretary’s Day, and Father’s Day. This also stems from the fact that according to http://www.history.com/minisites/valentine/minisites/valentine/viewPage?pageId=884, they state that the Greeting Card Association believes an estimated billion valentine cards are sent each year, making Valentine's Day the second largest card-sending holiday of the year. (An estimated 2.6 billion cards are sent for Christmas).
While most websites take some interpretation and spin it one way or another major theme of Father Valentine and Emperor Claudius II’s decree outlawing marriage and the events that follow seem to be the most agreed upon information for the basis for the holiday.
Wednesday, February 7, 2007
Different Approachs to the Same Goal: History for the Masses
The impact of the internet on everyday society cannot be denied, especially in the research capacity of society worldwide. What was once locked away deep in the recesses of libraries and collected works scattered throughout the world available only to the most academic of minds, are now but a few key strokes and clicks away for the common man to peruse and gather information from. The manner in which this information is presented and displayed is just as varied. The websites of The Valley of the Shadow: Two Communities in the American Civil war, The History Channel, Do History, and The National Museum of American History’s website all take very different approaches in sharing the information they choose to focus on with the rest of the world, and depending on the manner in which the user is attempting to use the information can work for their benefit or their detriment.
The website for this National Museum of American history, while extremely pleasing visually and well designed graphically to the level that one would expect for such a prestigious institution lacks proper historical background information on some of the items displayed and special series they present. This is not necessarily a bad thing because not every single person who visits the website is looking for all of the historical information related to the items displayed and the special presentations the museum may have. It must be kept in mind that the website serves as an advertising tool to provide more information to potential visitors with more information about the museum and what’s inside of it. It can help visitors in planning their visit and basic information about what to know about the items they will see in the museum.
Do History however takes a much more intensive approach to a specific topic that the National Museum of American History did not. By using the entire website to focus solely on Martha Ballard the user has essentially all information possible from one site. This includes a variety of primary source documents, background information, books, films, and contact lists to facilitate the finding of additional research or asking questions. For any person searching for a wealth of information without the desire to have to travel to many sites and go through many links to find what they are looking for this is a wonderful site to use. This is an extremely academic oriented site and more has more than acceptable and trustworthy resources available right from the get-go.
This History Channel is a bit of a unique hybrid of the previously two mentioned sites because while it is visually pleasing, well designed for advertisement of an institution, it has a bit more historical information and background information on the topic it chooses to focus on. The site while primarily focusing on the advertisement of television shows broadcasted on The History Channel, and the tapes and DVD’s that go with them, it provides a strong amount of background information. While the commercial nature of the site might turn away the serious academic for fear of poor credibility in terms of sources of information used, the everyday user will find a wealth of the most interesting information presented in an exciting format that makes history come alive.
The Valley of the Shadow: Two Communities in the American Civil war website is more along the lines of a serious academic nature but is a lacks the layout and warmth that even Do History established. This site focuses on the very specific experiences of two counties before, during, and after the Civil War. This includes maps, letters, photos, records, and diary excerpts. In terms of specific content the site is far superior to any of the websites that were previously covered. It focuses solely on those two communities and goes into extreme depth them. It should also be noted that the creator of this site is an establish historian, hosted by the Virginia Center for Digital History who has equally impeccable credentials.
While like the internet in general these sites all have multiple purposes, but it should be recognized that not each site meets all of needs of every single person that might come across that site, which is an important fact to be kept in mind during website design. Each of these websites has their weak and strong points, all with different approaches to portray their message. It must be kept in mind that one is not necessarily better than the other but that each serves a specific purpose, while all of them keeping in the realm of making history more accessible to the masses.
The website for this National Museum of American history, while extremely pleasing visually and well designed graphically to the level that one would expect for such a prestigious institution lacks proper historical background information on some of the items displayed and special series they present. This is not necessarily a bad thing because not every single person who visits the website is looking for all of the historical information related to the items displayed and the special presentations the museum may have. It must be kept in mind that the website serves as an advertising tool to provide more information to potential visitors with more information about the museum and what’s inside of it. It can help visitors in planning their visit and basic information about what to know about the items they will see in the museum.
Do History however takes a much more intensive approach to a specific topic that the National Museum of American History did not. By using the entire website to focus solely on Martha Ballard the user has essentially all information possible from one site. This includes a variety of primary source documents, background information, books, films, and contact lists to facilitate the finding of additional research or asking questions. For any person searching for a wealth of information without the desire to have to travel to many sites and go through many links to find what they are looking for this is a wonderful site to use. This is an extremely academic oriented site and more has more than acceptable and trustworthy resources available right from the get-go.
This History Channel is a bit of a unique hybrid of the previously two mentioned sites because while it is visually pleasing, well designed for advertisement of an institution, it has a bit more historical information and background information on the topic it chooses to focus on. The site while primarily focusing on the advertisement of television shows broadcasted on The History Channel, and the tapes and DVD’s that go with them, it provides a strong amount of background information. While the commercial nature of the site might turn away the serious academic for fear of poor credibility in terms of sources of information used, the everyday user will find a wealth of the most interesting information presented in an exciting format that makes history come alive.
The Valley of the Shadow: Two Communities in the American Civil war website is more along the lines of a serious academic nature but is a lacks the layout and warmth that even Do History established. This site focuses on the very specific experiences of two counties before, during, and after the Civil War. This includes maps, letters, photos, records, and diary excerpts. In terms of specific content the site is far superior to any of the websites that were previously covered. It focuses solely on those two communities and goes into extreme depth them. It should also be noted that the creator of this site is an establish historian, hosted by the Virginia Center for Digital History who has equally impeccable credentials.
While like the internet in general these sites all have multiple purposes, but it should be recognized that not each site meets all of needs of every single person that might come across that site, which is an important fact to be kept in mind during website design. Each of these websites has their weak and strong points, all with different approaches to portray their message. It must be kept in mind that one is not necessarily better than the other but that each serves a specific purpose, while all of them keeping in the realm of making history more accessible to the masses.
Tuesday, January 30, 2007
5 Examples Specific to Topic
1. Live Tuskegee Airment Pod Cast
This is a Pod Cast of some of the living of the Tuskegee Airmen recorded at North Harris College who share several of their real life experiences with the audience. This pod cast features Robert Ashby, Bill Broadwaster, Don Alger, Colin Black, Jimmy Shephard, and L. Turmon (All members of the historic Fighting 99th Pursuit Squadron during World War II). As the program progresses each of the Airmen speaks about their personal experiences with the Tuskegee Airmen Experimental Program, then answers a variety of questions from the students and public of North Harris College. Each of the men come from various backgrounds around the country but each share the same motivation and desire to become pilots and to hush the critics who believed that Blacks had no business flying airplanes. This Pod Cast provides a rare opportunity to hear the thoughs and opinions of the people who actually lived the experience.
2. Tuskegee Airmen Facts
This site is a fact list of the story and a few of the accomplishments of the Tuskegee Airmen. This site is unique because it is maintained and updated by Tuskegee University the alma matter of several pilots, and host of the experiment itself. In addition to this fact list there is also the full listing of more than 1,000 pilots who completed the Tuskegee Airmen program. There is also an extensive gallery of black and white photographs taken from the time. It also includes an update on the memorial to the Tuskegee Airmen was agreed upon by Congress in 1998, but since has yet to be properly funded.
3. Christopher Newman: Tuskegee Airman (a brief documentary)
This video from YouTube.com is a brief homemade documentary focused on the individual experience of Tuskegee Airman Christopher Newman. The video is centered around Mr. Newman’s experience all the way from training at Tuskegee to his post-war troubles. It also includes several pictures from Mr. Newsman’s personal collection, as well as those from other national archives. The creator of the documentary, also was able to insert slide of factual information from the era, as well as video news clips shown in cinema’s in America during the war. Mr. Newman also included his experience when he crash landed in a field and his fighter was surrounded by flames.
4. Tuskegee Airmen, Inc.
This is the website of the Tuskegee Airmen, Incorporated NFP (Non Profit Group). This website is representative of the 50 Chapters around the country all with the mission of acknowledging, and educating the public of the historic accomplishments made by the pilots, crew, and support staff. This site is dedicated to the preservation of the accomplishments by all of the participants in the program during and after World War II. This site also includes a comprehensive history of the program from its initial idea from black leaders, congressmen and other politicians. This site also has the official listing of all active pilots who participated during the war, their rank, and where they were from. It is interesting to note that not all of the pilots who served in the war were born in the united state. Several of them hailed from islands in the Caribbean and the US Virgin Islands.
5. Tuskegee Airmen Recalled to Duty
This blog is a feature article on a small group of four of the surviving Tuskegee Airmen who traveled to Iraq on a morale boosting trip to meet the troops currently serving there. The group of four included retired Lt. Col. Robert Ashby, who was one of the original graduating classes of the Tuskegee Program. This blog is heavily read by servicemen and women and their friends and family at home. Even the writer of the blog was humbled and inspired by the fact that these older heroes would take the time out of their own lives and travel over to war-town Iraq in show of support for the troops. This blog featured several comments from readers that were happy to learn that these veterans wanted to play an active role in support of the troops, despite the fact that this trip was not heavily covered by major network news.
This is a Pod Cast of some of the living of the Tuskegee Airmen recorded at North Harris College who share several of their real life experiences with the audience. This pod cast features Robert Ashby, Bill Broadwaster, Don Alger, Colin Black, Jimmy Shephard, and L. Turmon (All members of the historic Fighting 99th Pursuit Squadron during World War II). As the program progresses each of the Airmen speaks about their personal experiences with the Tuskegee Airmen Experimental Program, then answers a variety of questions from the students and public of North Harris College. Each of the men come from various backgrounds around the country but each share the same motivation and desire to become pilots and to hush the critics who believed that Blacks had no business flying airplanes. This Pod Cast provides a rare opportunity to hear the thoughs and opinions of the people who actually lived the experience.
2. Tuskegee Airmen Facts
This site is a fact list of the story and a few of the accomplishments of the Tuskegee Airmen. This site is unique because it is maintained and updated by Tuskegee University the alma matter of several pilots, and host of the experiment itself. In addition to this fact list there is also the full listing of more than 1,000 pilots who completed the Tuskegee Airmen program. There is also an extensive gallery of black and white photographs taken from the time. It also includes an update on the memorial to the Tuskegee Airmen was agreed upon by Congress in 1998, but since has yet to be properly funded.
3. Christopher Newman: Tuskegee Airman (a brief documentary)
This video from YouTube.com is a brief homemade documentary focused on the individual experience of Tuskegee Airman Christopher Newman. The video is centered around Mr. Newman’s experience all the way from training at Tuskegee to his post-war troubles. It also includes several pictures from Mr. Newsman’s personal collection, as well as those from other national archives. The creator of the documentary, also was able to insert slide of factual information from the era, as well as video news clips shown in cinema’s in America during the war. Mr. Newman also included his experience when he crash landed in a field and his fighter was surrounded by flames.
4. Tuskegee Airmen, Inc.
This is the website of the Tuskegee Airmen, Incorporated NFP (Non Profit Group). This website is representative of the 50 Chapters around the country all with the mission of acknowledging, and educating the public of the historic accomplishments made by the pilots, crew, and support staff. This site is dedicated to the preservation of the accomplishments by all of the participants in the program during and after World War II. This site also includes a comprehensive history of the program from its initial idea from black leaders, congressmen and other politicians. This site also has the official listing of all active pilots who participated during the war, their rank, and where they were from. It is interesting to note that not all of the pilots who served in the war were born in the united state. Several of them hailed from islands in the Caribbean and the US Virgin Islands.
5. Tuskegee Airmen Recalled to Duty
This blog is a feature article on a small group of four of the surviving Tuskegee Airmen who traveled to Iraq on a morale boosting trip to meet the troops currently serving there. The group of four included retired Lt. Col. Robert Ashby, who was one of the original graduating classes of the Tuskegee Program. This blog is heavily read by servicemen and women and their friends and family at home. Even the writer of the blog was humbled and inspired by the fact that these older heroes would take the time out of their own lives and travel over to war-town Iraq in show of support for the troops. This blog featured several comments from readers that were happy to learn that these veterans wanted to play an active role in support of the troops, despite the fact that this trip was not heavily covered by major network news.
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