will.illinois.edu/prairiefire/segment/pf2008-02-21-c WILL Public Media, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign Series Segment Illinois Culture/History, Military, World War II, Rantoul, WILL Custom Prairie Fire Subject Headings Producer Denise La Grassa talks with Tuskegee Airman Col. Elmer Jones, one of six original aviation cadets for the Tuskegee Airmen trained at Chanute Field in Rantoul. Jones, who became ground crew commander, was proud to serve his country in aircraft engineering during World War II, even though he served in an all-black unit. He maintains that being in a segregated unit provided an unexpected opportunity for the Tuskegee Airmen. They were able to prove their abilities at a time when people questioned whether African Americans should be allowed to fly and maintain planes. “They proved they were as good as white fighter pilots,” said LaGrassa. “World War II was really the beginning of the civil rights movement.” Abstract Magazine PBCore Genre Picklist Is Part Of http://will.illinois.edu/prairiefire/episode/pf2008-02-21 Illinois, Indiana Spatial Intermediate (grades 7-9)|High School (grades 10-12)|Primary (grades 1-6)|College|Post Graduate|General Education|General TV-G Denise La Grassa Producer Eleanore Stasheff Editor WILL-TV, University of Illinois Copyright Holder Publisher © 2008 University of Illinois 2008-02-21T20:30:01-06:00 2008-02-21T20:30:01-06:00 video/x-pn-realvideo http://willmedia.will.uiuc.edu/ramgen/pf2008-02-21-c.rv Moving Image RealSystems Real Media 9 50767106 00:08:12 eng pf2008-02-21-c.rv WILL Public Media, University of Illinois 2008-02-21T20:30:01-06:00 2008-02-21T20:30:01-06:00 video/mp4 http://willmedia.atlas.uiuc.edu/mpeg4/pf2008-02-21-c.mp4 Moving Image MPEG video MPEG-4 24036890 00:08:12 eng pf2008-02-21-c.mp4 WILL Public Media, University of Illinois 2008-02-21T20:30:01-06:00 2008-02-21T20:30:01-06:00 video/x-flv http://willmedia.atlas.uiuc.edu/flash/pf2008-02-21-c.flv Moving Image Flash Video Flash Media 8 26088616 00:08:12 eng pf2008-02-21-c.flv WILL Public Media, University of Illinois