The guardian. [volume] (Boston, Mass.) 1901-1960, 1945-09-29
from Baltimore Afro American
AN EDITORIAL
TUSKEGEE AT 1T AGAIN

iOSNESEE Al ~ ASAIN
Unless public sentiment expresses itself quickly
to the contrary, two important things are going to
happen
First, the Army is going to name the Tuskegee
Air Field base for colored flyers in the regular
Army.
Second, the Veterans Administration, which is
discussing the erection of 300 new hospitals, will
not only continue the colored hospital at Tuskegee
but make additions to or probably erect others in
the South.
Either or both fthese represents a calamity
President F. D. Patterson of Tuskegee Institute
has. pointe dout that the Army has made half-mi-
lion dollar investment at Tuskegee Air Field and that
the school has not only made its contribution to the
in the training of flyers but would be seriously
handicapped financially if the flying school is re-
moved.
The facts that the location of a "colored'
flying school at Tuskegee mistake at the start
because it represented the only Jim officer train
ing school in the United States Army.
In every other instance the infantry signal corps
quartermasters, needles, tanks, engineers-colored
and white officers have been trained together in
schools located in every section of the country North
and South. There was never any need to set up
jim crow school at Tuskegee.
The AFRO is opposed to Jim crow in the Army
because il morrow always fails In the great tests at
the battle front it failed and Indignation succeeded
1t failed at Tuskegee Air Field where standards were
reduced SIS per cent compared with the standard
set at the white army air fields of the same character
We would rather have 1000 Al flyers than
1000 poor ones. ..>
We expect our flyers to make the same grades
any others. We know. that the necessity of COM
petition is the best way to make any disadvantaged
group extend itself.
One Army, one Air Force, in peace and war,
calls for mixed training.
In the same way that Tuskegee officials are beg
cling the Army to keep a flying base at Tuskegee
medical associations are asking for the expansion of
the Tuskegee Veterans Hospital as separate inst-
tuition for colored soldiers They cite only one reason
namely that colored doctors and nurses should have
hospital in which they can practice.
We see no reason, however, why we should have
segregated hospital at Tuskegee for war veterans
when, at this very moment, coored soldiers, seamen
and Coast Guardsmen are treated without segrega-
ton, separation racial distinction at every Army
and Navy hospital in this country and abroad,
If we must have Jim hospitals in order to
get training for doctors and nurses then the price
asked to pay is for too high.
From where sit, it would appear that the
strongest force in our ranks advocating segregation
of the is Tuskegee, which is placing its own
financial interests ahead of the people of this country
In seeking to enlarge the disqualification of serv-
ice men and the training of flyers tTuskegee Insti-
tute, officials of the school and OF the medical
Citations not considering the attitudes of thousands
of colored men who have desire to travel by Jim
crow cars to Alabama to remain in that State one
moment longer than is absolutely necessary.
Nor have Tuskegee and the medics considered
the attitudes of the whites of Macon County who,
despite the so or 70 years of Tuskegees existence
there, are opposed to the political progress of coored
people and who, in recent vote case are making
every effort to bar all colored peope-educated and
uneducated ake-from the use of the ballot
Finally, Tuskegee and the medical associations
asking the War Department and the Veterans
Administration to resolve military matters on the
basis of the wishes and whms of civilian institu-
ton.
Tuskegee has betrayed us before and it's about
the same old business again.