Outcry over removal of Tuskegee Airmen from Air Force curriculum sparks personal reflections from former Jefferson County commissioner [Video]

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (WBRC) – Reaction continues to pour in after the Tuskegee Airmen were briefly removed—and later reinstated—from the Air Force curriculum. For retired Army Major General George Bowman, this decision was more than a policy oversight; it was deeply personal.

Bowman, the son of one of the original Tuskegee Airmen, expressed relief that the curriculum was restored but criticized its removal as troubling and unnecessary. He says the story of the Tuskegee Airmen, the first Black military aviators in U.S. history, transcends diversity initiatives. To him, it’s a critical piece of American history.

“We teach our young men and our young women to go and fight and defend this country anywhere at any time, and put their life on the line, so somebody can come back and say, that never really happened,” Bowman said.

The decision to remove the Tuskegee Airmen from the curriculum wasn’t just a professional concern for Bowman—it …