16. Accepting Black Cadets for Aviation Training
In 1941, the War Department finally gave in to pressure and began to accept African American cadets for aviation training. However, the selection process was made extra rigorous for black applicants – more so than for white applicants for aviation training. As described by Coleman Young, a successful African American candidate who after the war went to become Detroit’s first black mayor: “They made the standards so high, we actually became an elite group. We were screened and super-screened. We were unquestionably the brightest and most physically fit young blacks in the country. We were super-better because of the irrational laws of Jim Crow. You can’t bring that many intelligent young people together and train ’em as fighting men and expect them to supinely roll over when you try to f*** over ’em, right?“
