1. Where did the Tuskegee Airmen get their name?

2. True or false: The Tuskegee Airmen were uniformed members of the United States Air Force.

3. This man was the first black American military pilot, yet he was not allowed to fly for the United States and was only posthumously commissioned as a 2nd Lt. in the United States Air Force. Name him and for bragging rights, name the Franco-American flying corps he served with.

4. Where does the name "Red Tail" come from?

5. The tradition of using special paint, tail markings or codes to identify groups and wings on military aircraft can also be seen in the commercial and private airline industry. What airline was once known as the "proud bird with the golden tail"?

6. In 1776, this slave of a Delaware man was the first black American to fight in the Marines. Can you name him?

7. This grandson of American slaves went on to become the first black American to be elected as governor of a U.S. state. Name him. For bragging rights, name the state he governed.

8. Which amendment to the U.S. Constitution included the Privileges or Immunities Clause, Due Process and Equal Protection Clauses and granted black Americans citizenship and equal protection under the law? For bragging rights, name the year it was passed.

9. What are the "Reconstruction Amendments," and what is their significance to Black History Month?

10. True or False: Black History month started as Negro History Week in 1926.

Answer:

1. The military selected the Tuskegee Institute, located in the city of Tuskegee, Ala., to train pilots because of that institute's commitment to aeronautical training.

2. False: They were the 332nd Fighter Group and the 477th Bombardment Group of the U.S. Army Air Corps. The U.S. Air Force was not formed as a separate branch of the military until Sept. 18, 1947.

3. Eugene Jacques Bullard. He flew as a member of the Lafayette Flying Corps or Lafayette Escadrille, in the French A‚ronautique Militaire. He was assigned to 93 Spad Squadron during World War I.

4. The name comes from the distinctive red paint markings on the tails of the P-51s.

5. In the late 70s and early 80s, Continental Airlines used to paint the tails of their planes gold. They also had a slogan "We really move our tails for you."

6. John Martin, also known as Keto.

7. Lawrence Douglas "Doug" Wilder, Commonwealth of Virginia.

8. The 14th Amendment was passed in 1868.

9. The Reconstruction Amendments are Amendments 13, 14, and 15 to the U.S. Constitution passed between 1865 and 1870, the five years immediately following the U.S. Civil War. Amendment 13 abolished slavery; Amendment 14 granted black Americans citizenship and equal protection under the law; and Amendment 15 granted voting rights regardless of "race, color, or previous condition of servitude".

10. True. Historian Carter G. Woodson chose the second week of February for Negro History Week because it marks the birthdays of Frederick Douglass and Abraham Lincoln.

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Send your questions and answers to: The Answer Man, Dawn Seamans-Shook. [email protected]