Page 12 - Florida Sentinel 7-8-16 Online Edition

All About You!
IN THE SPOTLIGHT
Happy Birthday
Picture From The Past
Happy birthday to Willie Johnson from Diane John- son.
Diane Wingo and Willie Johnson attending Howard W. Blake’s 1970 prom.
ALEXIS
This week’s Spotlight feature, Alexis, is already a star, but that doesn’t mean she still doesn’t work hard. Alexis learned early that success means it’s time to really pull your sleeves back, and grind it out. We are going to wait and see what lies ahead for Alexis, and congratulations for being this week’s Spotlight feature.
FYI
Drive, Chip And Putt Qualifying At Rogers Park Golf Course Saturday
Local qualifying to be held this Saturday, July 9th, 8-11:30 a. m.
The Drive, Chip and Putt Championship qualifying will take place for 129 junior golfers at Rogers Park Golf Course, 7911 N. Willie Black Dr. (33610).
This free youth golf develop- ment initiative welcomes boys and girls ages 7-15 to participate in separate divisions in four age categories.
The United States Golf Asso- ciation (USGA), Masters Tour- nament and the PGA of America are sponsors of the Drive Chip and Putt Championship.
First U.S. Pilot To Shoot Down Advanced Jet In WWII:
Tuskegee Airman, Dr. Roscoe Brown, Jr. Dies
Dr. Roscoe Brown, Jr., was the com- mander the 100th Fighter Squadron of the 332nd Fighter Group passed away on Saturday.
Roscoe Brown Jr., who served with the all-Black Tuskegee Airmen dur- ing World War II and was a longtime New York City edu- cator, has died.
Brown died Saturday at a hospital in the Bronx after breaking his hip in a recent fall, his granddaughter, Lisa Bodine said. He was 94.
In 2007, Brown and five other airmen accepted the Congressional Gold Medal on behalf of the Tuskegee Air- men. President George W. Bush and Congress awarded the airmen with one of the na- tion's highest honors for fight- ing to defend their country even as they faced bigotry at home.
At the time, Brown told The Associated Press that re- ceiving the medal was one of the greatest days in the history of the Tuskegee Airmen.
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 in- cluding the Distinguished Fly- ing Cross.
Nearly 1,000 fighter pilots trained as a segregated Army Air Corps unit at the Tuskegee, Alabama, air base. Not al- lowed to practice or fight with their white counterparts, the Tuskegee Airmen distin- guished themselves by paint- ing the tails of their airplanes red, which led to them becom- ing known as the "Red Tails." Their story was told in a 2012 movie of the same name, on which Brown was an adviser.
In a 2011 interview with WNBC-TV, Brown noted that the Civil War occurred only about 70 years before World War II.
"I didn't understand the brutality of the Civil War, but when I was a Tuskegee Air- man, I knew that I was good, I knew that I had to challenge the system, and I loved to fly." "My message to young people is to keep on working," he added. "You've got to be bet- ter, you've got to be disci- plined, you've got to believe. And if you believe you can
overcome. ... That's the story of the Tuskegee Airmen.
A native of Washington, D.C., 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 Insti- tute of Afro-American Affairs at New York University.
He was later professor at The City University of New York Graduate Center and di- rector of the Center for Urban Education Policy.
For many years, he also hosted "African American Leg- ends," a public affairs show produced by CUNY TV.
During his 17 years at the Bronx Community College, "Dr. Brown intensified the college's outreach to New York City's economic and educa- tional institutions through partnerships with business and industry," said CUNY Chancellor James Milliken. "With his leadership, new pro- grams were developed in high growth professions in the fields of health, technology and human services."
PAGE 12-A FLORIDA SENTINEL BULLETIN PUBLISHED EVERY TUESDAY AND FRIDAY FRIDAY, JULY 8, 2016