THE TUSKEGEE AIRMEN: AMERICAN HEROES
ONE HOUR DOCUMENTARY SPECIAL
Written by Kwyn Bader
PRODUCED BY CINEBAR PRODS.
DISTRIBUTED BY COWLES MEDIA
NATIONWIDE AIRING BLACK HISTORY MONTH ON ABC, NBC and FOX AFFILIATES 1998
“Young man, this is excellent writing.”
Ossie Davis
to Kwyn
on the day he recorded his narration for
THE TUSKEGEE AIRMEN: AMERICAN HEROES
THE TUSKEGEE AIRMEN: AMERICAN HEROES is a 60 minute documentary for television for which Kwyn wrote the teleplay. Inspired by hours of interview footage originally shot for a museum archive, he created a remarkable story with narration written specifically for acting legend Ossie Davis. The included selection is spoken by Mr. Davis during the final minutes of the special.
From the teleplay by Kwyn Bader...
INT. AIRPLANE HANGAR - DAY
Mr. Davis stands in front of a classic fighter plane, looking directly into camera.
MR. OSSIE DAVIS (VO):
Lieutenant General Benjamin Davis once remarked that "The priviliges of being an American belong to those brave enough to fight for them." In a democracy, it is most often the people denied its rewards who assume the duty of upholding its truths, who force it to realize its most wonderful possibilities, since only they can know the real effect of its unkept promises. The Tuskegee Airmen were extraordinary because they knew what it meant to fight for America and what it meant to fight to be an American. They knew what it meant to fight as a man with the appreciation of the fight it took to be considered a man. Perhaps best of all, they knew what it meant to fly, to slip into the blue where all things are possible, where the daydreams of childhood transform into the makings of history.