April 19, 1941 – Mrs. Eleanor Roosevelt visited Tuskegee and met Charles “Chief” Anderson, the head of the program, Mrs. Roosevelt asked, “Can Negroes really fly airplanes?” He replied: “Certainly we can; as a matter of fact, would you like to take an airplane ride?” Over the objections of her Secret Service agents, Mrs. Roosevelt accepted. The agent called President Roosevelt, who replied, “Well, if she wants to do it, there’s nothing we can do to stop her.”

With Mrs. Roosevelt in the back seat of his Piper J-3 Cub, Chief Anderson took off and flew her around for half an hour. Upon landing, Mrs. Roosevelt turned to the Chief and said, “I guess Negroes can fly,” and they posed together for an historic photo. Not long after Mrs. Roosevelt’s return to Washington, it was announced that the first Negro Air Corps pilots would be trained at Tuskegee Institute.

In the spring of 1941, the first African-American enlisted men began training to become maintainers and the first thirteen pilot candidates entered training. Progress was slow; it was not until September 2, that Captain Benjamin O. Davis, Jr., became the first Negro to solo an aircraft as a U.S. Army Air Corps officer. On March 7, 1942, young black pilots stood at attention on Tuskegee’s airstrip, for induction into the U.S. Army Air Corps. Eight days later the 100th Fighter Squadron was established as a part of the 332nd Fighter Group.