Up early for day three! This morning we began our day with a
tour of Tuskegee University with our National Park Guide, and we were interested
to find out that Tuskegee University is the only place to claim both university
and National Historic Site status. We
toured The Oaks, which was once the residency of university founder, Booker T.
Washington. A former slave, Washington
received an education at one of the first all-black colleges, Hampton
College. He went on to help establish
the university, stressing the importance of self- sufficiency for its
students.
Next, we walked across the street on to the main campus to
visit the George Washington Carver Museum, which was an incredible testament to
all of his accomplishments. Carver’s
vision of contributing to Washington’s mission of self-sufficiency was based on
agricultural independence. He advocated
the diversity of agriculture to help recover from the destructive monoculture
of the cotton industry in the South. A
true Renaissance man, he was also involved in rocks, minerals, soil
improvement, food preservation and even beautification of peoples’ homes
through developing paints from pigmentation in clay. He continuously strove to help farmers
improve their lives as a way to break free from the cycle of white dependency.
Our final stop in Tuskegee was Moton Air Field, the home of
the Tuskegee Airmen. The first class of
cadets arrived in 1941 and would become engaged in combat in WWII within their
first year of graduating. During the war
years, the “RedTails” (appropriately named for the color of the tail on the
planes) shot down over 100 German aircraft and never lost a single friendly
bomber to enemy fire – a claim only they hold.
Seeking the “Double Victory,” the 992 pilots and over 15,000 crewmen and
women servicing the Tuskegee Airmen fought to win the war abroad against Japan
and Germany, and against racism and segregation at home. Their bravery and impeccable record in combat
destroyed the myths of racial inequalities and would become recognized as one
of the most accomplished units in the Armed Forces. Their contributions in the war years would
eventually lead to the ordered desegregation of the Armed Forces in 1948.
After our time in Tuskegee, we needed to get to our next
destination… So we hopped back on the bus for a two hour drive to… HOTLANTA! Here,
we toured the world headquarters of CNN Studios. We were able to see how news shows are
produced and broadcasted and even had a chance to see the control rooms! Even though we had enjoyed the tour, the
absolute highlight of the time in the CNN Studios was an impromptu meet and
greet with Carl Azuz! At Wellesley
Middle School, most teachers start the day with CNN Student News, for which
Carl Azuz writes and anchors. He responded
to our tweet request to meet, and talked to the students for a while about the
show. Of course, we all wanted to know about his famous puns… to which he
replied, “A show without puns would be punthinkable!” Our day was complete with a group photo!
We’ve just wrapped up dinner at the Hard Rock Café in downtown
Atlanta and will be getting ready for our last day soon. It’s hard to believe that we’re almost ready
to leave… but not without another full day and a surprise stop tomorrow
afternoon!
Goodnight Wellesley!
