Ames airport to be renamed in honor of African American flight pioneer

IOWA-The city of Ames is hosting a dedication ceremony Saturday for the renaming of its airport. Spokesperson, Susan Gwiasda says the airport is being named in honor of African-American flight pioneer James Herman Banning.

“James Herman Banning was a resident of Ames from 1919 to about 1928. He ended up becoming the first pilot to receive his pilot’s license from the U.S. Department of Commerce,” she says. Gwiasda says it was not an easy route for Denning. “He was denied flight instruction, several different places he tried to receive flight instruction in central Iowa,” Gwiasda says, “but eventually found a flight teacher and went on to become the first African American pilot to fly across the United States.”

Banning attended Iowa State University for one year and named a plane he flew “Miss Ames.” The dedication ceremony will take place at 10 a.m. on Saturday, June 17th.

[SOURCE: RADIOIOWA]

Cornel West now pursuing the Green Party nomination for President of the United States

Cornel West announced via Twitter he is seeking the Green Party nomination for president in 2024 after initially declaring his candidacy for the People’s Party nomination:

“In the spirit of a broad United Front and coalition strategy, I am pursuing the nomination of the Green Party for President of the United States. Go to CornelWest24.com for more information to continue to support this unprecedented effort to empower precious poor and working people here and abroad. I thank the volunteers of the People's Party for the initial launch!”

Fort Polk renamed Fort Johnson to honor African American WWI hero

As part of the national campaign to change the names of U.S. Army installations to cut ties with Confederate figures in America, Louisiana’s Fort Polk was redesignated to Fort Johnson Tuesday morning.

The campaign includes renaming nine U.S. Army bases, including North Carolina’s Fort Bragg changed to Fort Liberty, Texas’ Fort Hood changed to Fort Cavazos and Georgia’s Fort Benning changed to Fort Moore, among other changes.

Fort Polk was originally named after Lt. Gen. Leonidas Polk, a Confederate commander.

Now, the Fort Johnson base is honored for Sgt. William Henry Johnson, an African American World War I Medal of Honor recipient who served in the all-Black 369th U.S Infantry Regiment.

“Sgt. William Henry Johnson embodied the warrior spirit, and we are deeply honored to bear his name at the Home of Heroes,” said Brig. Gen. David W. Gardner, commanding general of the Joint Readiness Training Center and Fort Polk, in the press release.

The North Carolina native served one tour of duty on the western edge of the Argonne Forest in France’s Champagne region from 1918-1919, and became one of the first Americans to be awarded France’s highest award for valor, the French Croix de Guerre avec Palme.

According to the U.S. Department of Defense, former President Theodore Roosevelt called Johnson one of the five bravest Americans to serve in World War I.

After his death in July 1929, Johnson was awarded the Purple Heart in 1996, the Distinguished Service Cross in 2003, and most recently, the Medal of Honor in 2015.

More names are expected to be changed through the renaming campaign, including Georgia’s Fort Gordon changed to Fort Eisenhower to commemorate Army General Dwight D. Eisenhower, and Virginia’s Fort A.P. Hill will be changed to honor Dr. Mary Edwards Walker.

[SOURCE: UPI]

Explore the complex history of Black Americans who enlisted in the U.S. military in “BUFFALO SOLDIERS: FIGHTING ON TWO FRONTS”

PBS and WORLD Channel announce the presentation of Buffalo Soldiers: Fighting on Two Fronts, an award-winning documentary feature that explores the complex history of Black soldiers in the United States military. Director and producer Dru Holley weaves together the testimony of historians, experts and descendants of Buffalo Soldiers with archival photographs, reenactments and animation to tell the story of how newly free Black Americans enlisted in the U.S. Army, a reliable path to income and greater respect, and in the process helped to both fulfill America’s Manifest Destiny and disrupted the lives of Indigenous peoples. Buffalo Soldiers: Fighting on Two Fronts will premiere Tuesday, June 13 at 9 pm on WOUB. The film will be available to stream on the PBS app, WORLDChannel.org , YouTube and on the PBS Documentaries Prime Video Channel.

“The rise and role of Black Americans in the military is an important and overlooked part of American history, from conflicts abroad and on Indigenous lands at home,” said Chris Hastings, executive producer for WORLD Channel at GBH in Boston. “WORLD Channel is proud to bring Buffalo Soldiers to viewers on Juneteenth. With this film we hope to honor the contributions of brave Black soldiers and officers, and to acknowledge the painful legacy of westward expansion and colonial pursuits.”

Buffalo Soldiers: Fighting on Two Fronts, explores the often-contradictory role played by the Black soldiers throughout American history, with particular emphasis on the settling of the American West and colonialism abroad.

After the ratification of the 14th Amendment by Congress in 1868 granting full citizenship to Black men, many of them enlisted in the military. But they faced structural and social barriers to equal opportunity and fair treatment. Black soldiers helped lead the United States expansion westward; they helped build and guard transcontinental railroads and served as park rangers in places like Yosemite before the U.S. government established the National Park Service.

These Black soldiers fought bravely in the Indian Wars, the Spanish-American War, the Philippine-American War, the Mexican Punitive Expedition, World War I, World War II and the Korean War. However, the Buffalo Soldiers also participated in the subjugation of Indigenous peoples as the United States appropriated tribal land, the persecution of striking silver miners in Idaho, and against Filipinos fighting for independence during the Spanish-American War, resulting in a complicated legacy.

“The Buffalo Soldiers are key American figures whose tenacity to battle against overwhelming odds in service to the country has forever shaped history,” said Sylvia Bugg, Chief Programming Executive and General Manager of General Audience Programming at PBS. “PBS is proud to present this eye-opening and deeply moving story to audiences this summer, directed by one of the selected creators from our Open Call for Emerging Filmmakers.”

Buffalo Soldiers: Fighting on Two Fronts was produced and directed by Dru Holley, a filmmaker passionate about producing inspiring stories that empower viewers to re-think broken systems. Buffalo Soldiers: Fighting on Two Fronts is his feature directorial debut.

“The story of the Buffalo Soldiers involves historical complexities like race, class, power, colonialism and western expansion. It is particularly relevant today as our country is roiling with the agony of racial strife,” said Holley. “As a Black filmmaker, I feel a responsibility to tell our story, to provide an inspiring story about history often left out of school textbooks. We want young kids to know the accounts of people like them that stretch across the nation, to have more knowledge of their past than we did.”

Buffalo Soldiers: Fighting on Two Fronts is a film from PBS’s Open Call for Emerging Filmmakers, which provides support for creators with unique ideas that will resonate, foster dialogue, and bring new engagement across the public media system. Whether in early concept stages or nearing completion, PBS will offer funding support for selected films that may be distributed across PBS platforms, including PBS.org and PBS Digital Studios. The films include a broad array of stories from a diversity of perspectives in genres ranging from arts & culture, personal history, social justice, health, immigration, economics, environment, democracy, and civics. Information about each film, creator and distribution partner will be announced on a rolling basis.

The film Buffalo Soldiers: Fighting on Two Fronts was an official selection at the Seattle International Film Festival, Portland Film Festival, Astoria Film Festival and Vashon Film Festival in 2022. It was the 2022 Audience Award Winner at the Tacoma Film Festival.

For more information, visit www.WORLDchannel.org or follow @worldchannel on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, TikTok and YouTube.  Join the conversation on social media with #BuffaloSoldiersPBS.

Cornel West explains why he is running for presidentas a third-party candidate

Watch CNN's Jake Tapper as he has a one-on-one with former Harvard professor and prominent public intellectual Cornel West, who announced a third party run for president.