Black History Month presents Tina Watson, daughter of Tuskegee Airman George Watson, at Asbury Park High School

This was an incredible week for Black History Month for Asbury Park High School because Tina Watson, the daughter of Tuskegee Airman George Watson came into Mr. Wronko’s World History class and gave an incredible presentation about her father and the Tuskegee Airmen.

Tina Watson at Asbury Park High School

Before her presentation, Tina Watson set up many visuals around the classroom which gave a Tuskegee museum appearance.

Her father George Watson

The visuals consisted of posters of her father and many important people who made the Tuskegee Airmen a success, her father’s medals which consisted of the Purple heart and the Congressional Gold Medal, an incredible photograph of all the men and women involved in the Tuskegee group, and poster boards which outlined her father’s involvement as well a history of the missions of the Tuskegee Airmen.

When she began her presentation about her father and the Tuskegee Airmen, she told the students how George Watson was living in a time in which the North and South were different.

Mr. George Reed and History teacher Mr. Wronko

She explained how in the North her father was able to get along with everybody. However, when he traveled to the South, he had to deal with in your face racism. Regardless of how awful the South was, George Watson kept to his duties and served the United States of America.

Tuskegee Airmen

Tina Watson went on to inform the students that when her father was a part of the Tuskegee Airmen, he was a mechanic that worked on the planes. This coincided with her showing the students movie clips from the movie Red Tails. Since George Watson was consulted by Lucasfilm on how historical events played out with that group, Watson could of very well been based on Andre Royo’ character, Antwan ‘Coffee’ Coleman, who was one of the mechanics that repaired the planes.

In addition to her explaining to the students about her father being a mechanic, Tina Watson told the students the Tuskegee Airmen were a part of the 332nd Fighter Group and the 477th Bombardment Group. She explained that the Tuskegee Airmen had the duty to protect the bombers on dangerous missions so the bombers could carry out eliminating their targets.

Furthermore, she told the students that when people think of the Tuskegee Airmen, we think of the pilots and their missions. However, there were more that were involved. For instance, there were more members besides the pilots such as like her father, the mechanics, navigators, crew chiefs, cooks, bombardiers, instructors, nurses, and other support personnel who were all considered be the Tuskegee Army.

As one of Tina Waton’s posters stated, “Anyone – man or woman, military or civilian, black or white – who served at Tuskegee Army Air Field or in any of the programs stemming from the ‘Tuskegee Experience’ between the years 1941 – 1949 is considered to be a documented original Tuskegee (DOTA).”

Also she spoke about Benjamin Oliver Davis Jr., who took on the lead role and was the commander of the Tuskegee Airmen, and Eleanor Roosevelt, wife of 32nd president Franklin Roosevelt, who supported the Tuskegee Airmen and rode in the plane with Charles Alfred Anderson, “The Father of Black Aviation.”

Tina Watson’s presentation was fabulous and she also had students read important quotes of the time. In addition, throughout her presentation students asked numerous questions to enhance their understanding of not only her father’s history but also the Tuskegee Airmen project itself. In closing, after her presentation, Mr. Wronko’s student, Randy Vasquez, gave Tina Watson a presentation on how to encourage human rights in the world in which we live in today. This was Randy’s second presentation done this week. His first was with the League of Women Voters.