ROSCOE BROWN CONSIDERED a career in commercial aviation. When his application to be a pilot with Eastern Airlines was crumpled up and tossed in the trash by a secre- tary who told him, “We don’t hire Negroes,” Brown did not turn bitter—he went to work.
Pouring himself back into his studies, Brown got both a master’s and a Ph.D. from New York University, completing the latter in 1951. Then he plunged into teaching, starting out that fall as an instructor at NYU.
This would not be a short-term commitment. He would rise through the ranks at NYU, becoming a full professor, and ultimately directing the school’s prestigious Institute of African-American Affairs. In 1977, he began a 16-year stint as the President of Bronx Community College. In 1993, he stepped down, but he continued to conduct policy research at the Graduate Center at the City University of New York— something that, remarkably, he continues to do to this day, traveling from his home in Riverdale to an office right by the Empire State Building.
“That’s 60 years as an academician,” he says. “That’s pretty damn good.” He continues to serve on boards for housing, education, and community service. Along the way, he found time to mentor and guide four children with his late wife, Laura, and, for good measure, to complete the New York Marathon nine times (the last time just 10 years ago). “I’ve been busy,” he says with a laugh.
Some progress has been made, Brown believes, toward creating that beloved community, and he says that his alma mater—which he also served for years as a trustee—has played a role. While he says he would love to see the school be more successful in recruiting African-American students, he looks back at his long-ago days as an undergraduate as “a great formative experience,” and describes himself as “a very proud Springfield alumnus.”
HIS EXPERIENCE AS a Tuskegee Airman is only one part of Roscoe Brown’s story, but it is a part that has been in the news of late because of Red Tails. Brown served as one of the consultants on the film, standing side by side with George Lucas during filming in Prague.
“He was sincerely committed to the project,” Brown says. “He kept saying that he wanted the project to be about heroes, not about victims.”
In 2007 that perspective got a huge boost when surviving Tuskegee Airmen came to Washington to receive the Congressional Gold Medal. President Bush, the son of a World War II pilot who preceded him in the White House, was visibly moved. He saluted the Tuskegee Airmen, and said, “(My father) flew with a group of brave young men who endured difficult times in the defense of our country. Yet for all they sacrificed and all they lost, in a way they were very fortunate. They never had the burden of having their every mission, their every success, their every failure,
TRIANGLE 1 Vol. 83, No. 3
viewed through the color of their skin ... nobody refused their salutes.”
Of the group of 300 former pilots, widows, and relatives, the person chosen to represent the Tuskegee Airmen that day was none other than Roscoe Brown. “Over 60 years ago we were flying in the skies over Europe defending our country, and at the same time fighting the battle against racial segregation,” he said. “Because of our great record and our persistence, we inspired revolu- tionary reform which led to the integration in the armed forces in 1948. As the presi- dent said, (this) provided a symbol for America that all
His experience as a Tuskegee Airman is only one part of Roscoe Brown’s story, but it is a part that has been in the news of late because of Red Tails. Brown served as one of the consultants on the film, standing side by side with George Lucas during filming in Prague.
people can contribute to this country and be treated fairly.” A senator from Illinois by the name of Barack Obama said that day, “My career in public service was made possible by the path heroes like the Tuskegee Airmen trail-blazed.” Not even two years later, Brown would be back in his childhood home to attend Obama’s inauguration as President of the United States.
When the film came out this year, Brown became something of a celebrity, doing interviews on national televi- sion, talking to Newsweek, putting in one school appearance after another. He didn’t mind the attention, but in the end, basking is really not his thing.
There were still wings to be earned, and Roscoe Brown was ready to get to work.1
Editor’s note: Former Springfield College President Randolph W. Bromery (1992-1999) was also a Tuskegee Airman.
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Brown (in the cockpit) and crew member
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