Carolyn Russo, curator of the Museum's art collection, reflects of the work of Alma W. Thomas.

In 1945, the Tuskegee Airmen of the 477th Bombardment Group protested discrimination at Freeman Field through pre-planned displays of resistance against the segregated officers' clubs.

The Tuskegee Airmen’s fight for equality involved more than their skills in the air. It required coordinated, collective actions of civil disobedience in which 162 officers risked their careers and their lives to stand up against systemic racism in the US Army Air Forces (AAF).

Julius Montgomery, a pioneering African American in the space program, died on January 22, 2020, in Florida. He was the first African American ever hired at the Cape Canaveral space facility to work as a technical professional. Additionally, he integrated the Florida Institute of Technology and was the first black member of the Melbourne, Florida, City Council.

As the summer comes to an end, it’s time for many to go back to school.  Most students have mixed feelings of excitement and trepidation at the thought of returning. Imagine how the students at the earliest aviation schools felt!

While Bessie Coleman never realized her dream of opening a flight school for African American pilots, her legacy as the first African American woman to earn a pilot’s license has impacted and inspired flight students for decades.

The personal papers of William J. Powell, an early African American aviation pioneer, highlight his career with the American Expeditionary Forces and his work to support African Americans in aviation.

Janet Waterford Bragg was a pioneer female African American pilot whose leadership in black pilot organizations in the 1930s paved the way for other aviators. 

What is it like to train as an astronaut? Victor Glover, part of NASA’s 2013 astronaut class, is one of the few who knows what it’s like to prepare for a journey beyond Earth’s atmosphere.