from 5/23/07 from pseudo-intellectualism Over a year ago I did a post on the Peekskill Concert Riots in 1949. One of the people involved was Eugene Bullard. I had found a picture of him on Howard Fast's site (famed writer and author of Peekskill USA). It showed Bullard being beaten by State Police for probably no reason other than these: he was a supporter of Paul Robeson and an attendee of the concert and because he was black. I had never heard of him, but the picture mentioned he was a war hero. I looked him up and found that he had flown for the Lafayette Escadrille! I recently watched the DVD of Flyboys. Despite poor reviews I found the film had redeeming qualities. It seemed that the character of the black pilot Skinner was based on Bullard. Research bore that out. I also found that Bullard lived in Harlem in his later years at 80 East 116th Street. Amazingly, with all the renovation that neighborhood has undergone the building is still there. That's a picture of it above. I would think the building deserves a plaque.
I can't believe that I never heard of Eurene Bullard after all these years (70). He lived on 116th street in harlem. I lived on 112th street in Harlem. A Black fighter pilot in WWI? Unheard of. He joined the ranks of other surpressed black hero's that America kept hidden. I salute him.
ReplyDeleteMelvin Douglas