# @ctpublic on Instagram

- **Type:** Image
- **Original URL:** https://www.instagram.com/p/DBZms_EPV2u
- **Gondola URL:** https://gondola.cc/posts/24386447-ctpublic-instagram
- **Thumbnail:** https://img.gondola.cc/tr:w-,h-,fo-auto/thumbnails/541cbf9ac4.jpg
- **Posted:** 2024-10-21T20:45:20.000+00:00
- **Account Owner:** Connecticut Public (@ctpublic) — https://gondola.cc/ctpublic

## Caption

When Cheo Hodari Coker has a hard day, he pictures his 23-year-old grandfather in the cockpit of a P-51 Mustang fighter plane.⁠
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Coker, a Connecticut native, is a writer and producer known for the Marvel TV series “Luke Cage.” His grandfather, Lt. Col. Bertram Wilson, was a member of the Tuskegee Airmen and the famed Red Tails fighter group. For his World War II service, Wilson was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross and a Bronze star – at a time when the U.S. military was racially segregated and African Americans were still subjected to racist Jim Crow laws.⁠
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“He would also talk about how they had instructors that would literally try to wash them out, the psychological games that they would play by constantly referring to them with the ‘N’ word. And how a lot of people couldn’t take it,” Coker said.⁠
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His grandfather told Coker to ignore the name-calling.⁠
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“He taught me, in very frank terms, to not let anything get in my way,” Coker said.⁠
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Wilson is featured in an ongoing exhibit at the New England Air Museum called “The Tuskegee Airmen: Their Untold Stories.” It highlights two battles that the country’s first Black aviators faced: against Nazis during World War II in Europe and against racism in 1940s America.⁠
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To learn more about the New England Air Museum and the Tuskegee Airmen, head to the link in our bio.⁠
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📷: @davewurtzel @joeamonct⁠
✍️: Diane Orson⁠
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#CTpublic #Connecticut #BlackHistory #BlackVoices #TuskegeeAirmen

## Stats

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## Credits

| Name | Username | Profile | Role |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Connecticut Public | @ctpublic | https://gondola.cc/ctpublic | Newspaper |
| Taylor DiLisi | @taylordilisi | https://gondola.cc/taylordilisi | Social Media Intern |

## Tags

ctpublic, connecticut, blackvoices, tuskegeeairmen, blackhistory

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