Airport Manager Robert Petty will show attendees around the facility. The airport was initially an advance fighter training field from 1942-1945.

In both wars, African Americans served in segregated units in the armed forces and generally in support units. He will discuss the influx of Black GIs into many southern communities during both wars and the hostility from White residents that often greeted them. In the end, pressure from civil rights organizations and the need for more personnel over the course of World War II resulted in army and navy policies that curbed the worst excesses of Jim Crow segregation in the armed forces.    

The co-directors and master teacher will be available for small group or individual consultations during lunch.

400 South Pinetree Blvd. Thomasville

After viewing the commemorative plaque at the site of the former World War II army hospital, Dr. Piehler will lead a brief discussion that will continue later in the afternoon, focusing on what sites are saved and remembered and what sites are forgotten.

The attendees will be accompanied by Nancy Tinker of Thomasville Landmarks, who will speak briefly about each church.

We will begin our afternoon session with an overview of the artifacts and other holdings of Jack Hadley Black History Museum, especially those items related to military history. Mr. Hadley will provide an overview of his own career with the U.S. Air Force.  Dr. Piehler will continue his discussion from the morning, outlining the military service of African American servicemen/women in the two world wars both from Thomasville and nationally.

1122 Lester Street, Thomasville

The K-12 Education Specialist, Rhonda Grimm, and the co-directors, Drs. Mixon and Piehler, will lead a session focusing on “pulling it all together.” This session will encourage attendees to discuss ways they plan to incorporate what they learned during the workshop into the classroom.  We will discuss strategies for integrating complex stories and problematic sources into a lesson using the excerpts from Irwin MacIntyre’s, Colored Soldiers and the free responses that are part of the American Soldier website as examples. This session will conclude with teachers’ completing an evaluation form, but they will also be afforded the opportunity to offer feedback directly to the workshop directors.

Workshop Concludes For the Day