This Veterans’ Day, meet America’s first two Black generals, who are father and son

Subject

From Red Tails to Invisible Generals

Description

Doug Melville knew he had to do something to make sure his family members’ legacies were preserved after seeing the movie Red Tails.

One of the characters, played by Terrance Howard, was based on the life of his great-uncle, Benjamin Davis Jr., commander of the Tuskegee Airmen, but was unrecognizable to the family story Melville had heard most of his life.

“When I went to the screening and went back to my dad, the biggest learning I had was actually learning the family story,” he recalled. “I didn’t know it, and my dad just turned 90 last week and he’s really part of the Silent Generation. He was part of the generation that said, ‘We dealt with this, so you don’t have to deal with this.’”

Melville now knows the story of his relatives who became the first two Black military generals in American history, and he believes it’s a story that will inspire others.

Creator

MAINA MWAURA

Source

MAINA MWAURA

Publisher

Baptist News Global

File

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