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Movements, leaders, victories and the continuing fight for equality.
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In 1968 Shirley Chisholm became the first Black woman elected to the United States Congress. In 1972 she launched a campaign for the Democratic presidential nomination, breaking another political barrier.
MORE →Reflects the personal views, recollections, and perspective of the author, Mike Davis.
This is a personal recollection on the Move fire on May 13, 1985
Roger Terry | |
|---|---|
 Roger Terry | |
| Born | August 13, 1921 [1] |
| Died | June 11, 2009 |
| Military career | |
| Allegiance | United States of America |
Branch | United States Army Air Corps |
Rank | Lieutenant |
| Nickname | Bill |
| Unit | 332nd Fighter Group |
| Awards | Congressional Gold Medal awarded to the Tuskegee Airmen |
Lt. Roger "Bill" Terry (August 13, 1921 – June 11, 2009) from Los Angeles, California was one of the Tuskegee Airmen. He served in the U.S. Army Air Corps in World War II. He was dishonorably discharged after the Freeman Field Mutiny.
Terry was from Los Angeles, California. Terry graduated from the University of California, Los Angeles where his roommate was the baseball player Jackie Robinson.[2] Both Terry and Jackie Robinson would go on to be court-martialed for resisting segregation in the U.S. Armed forces.[3]
Terry joined the Tuskegee Airmen after graduating from UCLA in 1941. In February 1945 he graduated flight school and had the rank of 2nd Lieutenant.[3] The Whites only officer's club was much better than the one afforded to the black officers. Terry and over 100 black officers were determined to integrate the white officer's club. A man who would go on to become Detroit's first black mayor Lt. Coleman Young was also one of protestors.[2]
At Freeman Field in 1945, a large number of the Tuskegee Airmen attempted to integrate the all white officer's club. The black pilots were arrested and charged with insubordination. Terry was arrested for "jostling" one officer in the incident which later became known as the Freeman Field Mutiny.[4]
Terry was charged with insubordination and also charged with getting physical with a white officer. The insubordination charge was not upheld, but he was convicted of getting physical with a white officer. His punishment was a $150 fine and a reduction in rank, and he was dishonorably discharged.[5]
In 1995 the assistant secretary of the Air Force, Rodney Coleman removed disciplinary letters from the files of the Tuskegee airmen. He also removed Terry's court martial and dishonorable discharge and restored his rights and privileges.[4]
Terry was said to have been proud of his behavior in the mutiny and subsequent court-martial.[3]
Terry earned a law degree and worked for the District Attorney of Los Angeles, California. He was active in Tuskegee Airmen causes and was also an advisor on the film Red Tails. In Los Angeles, Stanford Ave & E 28th St was named Roger Terry Square in his honor.[3]
Terry died of heart failure on June 11, 2009. He was 87.[2] He is buried at Inglewood Park Cemetery in Inglewood, California.
Source: Wikipedia. Article content is retrieved live through the MediaWiki API.
Lt. Roger "Bill" Terry (August 13, 1921 – June 11, 2009) from Los Angeles, California was one of the Tuskegee Airmen. He served in the U.S. Army Air Corps in World War II. He was dishonorably discharged after the Freeman Field Mutiny.
The Freeman Field mutiny was a series of incidents at Freeman Army Airfield, a United States Army Air Forces base near Seymour, Indiana, in 1945 in which African American members of the 477th Bombardment Group attempted to integrate an all-white officers' club. The mutiny resulted in 162 separate arrests of black officers, some of them twice. Three were court-martialed on relatively minor charges. One, Roger C. Terry, was convicted. In 1995, the Air Force officially vindicated the actions of the African-American officers, set aside the single court-martial conviction and removed letters of reprimand from the permanent files of 15 of the officers. The mutiny is generally regarded by historians of the Civil Rights Movement as an important step toward full integration of the armed forces and as a model for later efforts to integrate public facilities through civil disobedience.
Zapp (also known as the Zapp Band, or more popularly Zapp & Roger) is an American funk band that emerged from Dayton, Ohio, United States, in 1977. Particularly influential in the electro subgenre of funk, Zapp were known for their trademark use of the talk-box effect. The original line-up consisted of four Troutman brothers—frontman Roger, Larry, Lester and Terry—first cousin, Sherman Fleetwood—and non-Troutman family members Bobby Glover, Gregory Jackson, Jerome Derrickson, Eddie Barber, Jannetta Boyce and Shirley Murdock. Zapp also worked closely with George Clinton and Bootsy Collins of Parliament-Funkadelic during its early stages, their support being a factor in the group gaining a record deal with Warner Bros. Records in 1979. Zapp released its eponymous debut album in 1980, and achieved mainstream recognition with the single "More Bounce to the Ounce". The group's 1982 follow-up Zapp II sold well and was certified gold. In the 1990s, Zapp would also influence the G-funk sound and the broader cultural scene of West Coast hip-hop itself. The band disbanded in 1999 after Roger and Larry Troutman died in an apparent murder-suicide executed by Larry. Zapp reformed briefly in 2003 with the remaining brothers of the Troutman family to produce the album Zapp VI: Back By Popular Demand.
Terrence Vance Gilliam ( GIL-ee-əm; born 22 November 1940) is an American-born British filmmaker, comedian, collage animator, and actor. In a career spanning more than five decades, he has received various accolades including the BAFTA Fellowship for lifetime achievement in 2009, as well as nominations for an Academy Award, a Golden Globe Award, and a BAFTA Award. Gilliam started his career as an animator and strip cartoonist. He joined Monty Python as the animator of their works, but eventually became a full member and was given acting roles, gaining stardom as a member of the comedy troupe alongside John Cleese, Eric Idle, Michael Palin, Terry Jones, and Graham Chapman. Together they collaborated on the sketch series Monty Python's Flying Circus (1969–1974) and the films Monty Python and the Holy Grail (1975, also co-directed), Life of Brian (1979), and The Meaning of Life (1983). They received the BAFTA Award in 1988 for Outstanding British Contribution to Cinema. As Python started to take longer breaks between projects following Monty Python and the Holy Grail, Gilliam became a solo filmmaker; after directing The Crimson Permanent Assurance—to which he was nominated for the BAFTA Award for Best Short Film—Python effectively ceased working together, and Gilliam pursued his career as a filmmaker. He transitioned to directing serious films with themes exploring imagination and oppositions to bureaucracy and authoritarianism. His films are sometimes set in dystopian worlds and involve black comedy and tragicomedic elements. He has directed thirteen feature films, making his directorial debut with Monty Python and the Holy Grail and his solo directorial debut with Jabberwocky (1977). Gilliam gained breakthrough with Time Bandits (1981) and has since directed ten more films, gaining further acclaim with the next two "Trilogy of Imagination" films—Brazil (1985) and The Adventures of Baron Munchausen (1988)—and The Fisher King (1991), the first and last of which earned him nominations for the Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay and the Golden Globe Award for Best Director respectively. He also directed 12 Monkeys (1995) and other directing credits include Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas (1998), The Brothers Grimm (2005), The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus (2009), and The Man Who Killed Don Quixote (2018). Gilliam is the only Monty Python member not born in Britain; he became a naturalised British citizen in 1968 and formally renounced his American citizenship in 2006.
Before the 1921 destruction of Tulsa’s Greenwood District, Black residents had created a remarkable center of business and community life. The district included stores, professional offices, entertainment venues and homes owned by Black citizens. Understanding Greenwood means learning what was built—not only what was burned.
MORE →Madam C.J. Walker
