WHY ARE BLACKS HORRIBLE PILOTS?

WHY ARE BLACKS HORRIBLE PILOTS?

(The Lie We Are Here to Dismantle)

There is a persistent, ugly stereotype that African Americans make "horrible pilots." I don't know why it persists, but you hear it everywhere—from fringe YouTubers and podcasters to random debates in bars. Recently, you hear it echoed by the highest powers in the U.S. Government.

We all know the legend of the Tuskegee Airmen—the "Red Tails." We know their outstanding record protecting bombers and securing kills during WWII. Yet, despite their heroism, they returned to a segregated nation that offered them no respect. In many cases, they were treated worse than the captured German Nazi scientists the U.S. hired after the war.

But the most damning proof against this stereotype was actively hidden for decades.

In 1949, the United States Air Force held its first-ever Gunnery Competition (the predecessor to "Top Gun") to see which fighter group was truly the best. For ten days, pilots competed in strafing, rocketry, and dive-bombing.

At the end of the meet, the 332nd Fighter Group—the Tuskegee Airmen—stood victorious. They won using obsolete P-47 Thunderbolts, defeating white squadrons flying superior P-51 Mustangs and F-82 Twin Mustangs.

But you wouldn't have found their names in the books. Instead of recording their victory, the official Air Force Almanac listed the 1949 winners as "UNKNOWN." The three-foot silver trophy they rightfully earned was hidden in storage for 46 years.

This erasure of Black excellence goes back even further. The narrative that Black history lags behind is false; often, it was simply stolen or delayed.

• Charles Frederick Page received a patent for his airship on April 10, 1906—beating the Wright Brothers’ patent (May 22, 1906) by over a month.

• Tragically, the model Page built to display at the Louisiana Purchase Exposition "mysteriously" never arrived on the train.

It is better late than never, but recognition has been a slow battle against a whitewashed history:

• 1993: Lt. Col. Harry Stewart brought evidence of the 1949 win to the Air Force.

• 1995: The records were officially changed.

• 2004: The missing trophy was discovered by a historian and is finally on display at the National Museum of the U.S. Air Force in Ohio.

• 2024: Two models of Charles Frederick Page’s airships were finally displayed at the Louis Armstrong New Orleans International Airport and the Ernest N. Morial Convention Center.

Despite these facts, the effort to erase history continues. Before his passing, commentator Charlie Kirk famously admitted that when he saw a Black pilot, his first thought was, "I hope he is qualified," basing his judgment not on merit, but on bigotry and ignorance.

Most recently, in January 2025, immediately after taking office, the Trump administration and Pete Hegseth moved to remove Tuskegee Airmen videos and training courses to align with "anti-DEI" efforts. Within 24 hours, they were restored—because the only reason to remove them was racism.

The purpose of labeling the 1949 winners "UNKNOWN" was to hide Black success. The purpose of UNKNOWN FORTY-NINE is to restore it.

We aren't just looking at the past; we are looking at the giants who stand on those shoulders. We look to Lt. Col. James Harvey III, who, after the 1949 win, flew the F-102 to 80,000 feet to test the pressure suit for John Glenn. We look to the future, like Victor Jerome Glover Jr., who has logged over 167 days in space and will pilot the Artemis II mission around the Moon in 2026.

While some administrations try to erase diverse history while plastering their names on monuments they didn't earn, UNKNOWN FORTY-NINE exists to give the world a reason to remember. We use our brand to inspire young people of color to keep aiming for the sky.

So, to answer the question: Why are Blacks horrible pilots? Short answer: They aren't. And we have the facts, the history, the trophies, and the future to prove it.

BE UNKNOWN. BE VICTORIOUS. BE UNKNOWN FORTY-NINE.