Roscoe Brown Jr. | Tuskegee airman, 94
Roscoe Brown Jr., 94, who served with the all-black Tuskegee Airmen during World War II and was a longtime New York City educator, died Saturday at a hospital in the Bronx after breaking his hip in a recent fall.
Roscoe Brown Jr., 94, who served with the all-black Tuskegee Airmen during World War II and was a longtime New York City educator, died Saturday at a hospital in the Bronx after breaking his hip in a recent fall.
In 2007, Dr. Brown and five other airmen accepted the Congressional Gold Medal on behalf of the Tuskegee Airmen. President George W. Bush and Congress awarded the airmen with one of the nation's highest honors for fighting to defend their country even as they faced bigotry at home.
At the time, Dr. Brown said that receiving the medal was one of the greatest days in the history of the Tuskegee Airmen.
Mr. Brown was a commander of the 100th Fighter Squadron of the 332nd Fighter Group, and is credited with being the first U.S. pilot to shoot down an advanced German military jet, the family noted. He earned numerous awards including the Distinguished Flying Cross.
Nearly 1,000 fighter pilots trained as a segregated Army Air Corps unit at the Tuskegee, Ala., air base. Not allowed to practice or fight with their white counterparts, the Tuskegee Airmen distinguished themselves by painting the tails of their airplanes red, which led to them becoming known as the "Red Tails." Their story was told in a 2012 movie of the same name, on which Brown was an adviser.
A native of Washington, D.C., Dr. Brown held a doctorate from New York University.
He served as president of the Bronx Community College at the City University of New York and director of the Institute of Afro-American Affairs at New York University.
He was later professor at the City University of New York Graduate Center and director of the Center for Urban Education Policy.
For many years, he also hosted African American Legends, a public affairs show produced by CUNY TV.
- AP