Hiram College, Hiram, Ohio 44234

Hiram College's Tuskegee Airmen Curriculum

Instructor: Roger F. Cram                                                       

Office: College Relations - Teachout Price Building                                              
Place : Second Floor
Regular Hours: 8:00 am to 5:00 pm                                        
Telephone: 330-569-5104                                                     
Email: cramrf@hiram.edu                                                        
FAX: 330-569-5290

I.   Course Description:

     In 1925, Major General H. E. Ely, commandant of the War College , responded to a study ordered by the War Department entitled “The Use of Negro Manpower in War.” Ely concluded, “…that black men were cowards and poor technicians and fighters, lacking initiative and resourcefulness.”  Ely further stated that the average black man’s brain weight only 35 ounces, while the average white man’s brain weight 45 ounces. This report “proved” to most officials that the black man’s role in the military should be limited to closely supervised menial jobs and that they should be kept segregated from whites because they were “…a subspecies of the human population.”

     In 1941, the black man was finally allowed to train in aircraft through a civilian program at the Tuskegee Airfield in Alabama . The program, however, was to show that black men did not posses “what it takes” to be fighter pilots in a white man’s air core.  Many government officials went to great extremes to insure the program would fail.

     Despite many, almost insurmountable obstacles intentionally placed in the way of their success, the black Tuskegee-trained airmen triumphed over all opposition and developed into the most skilled and formidable fighting air force ever known.  How could this be when the architecture of the Tuskegee Airmen program was designed for failure?  How did the Tuskegee Airmen’s group dynamics serve as a “substitute for outside-managerial leadership?  How did nonverbal communications play a major role in the Tuskegee Airmen achieving their objectives? How did the Tuskegee group leaders employ various leadership theories to successfully overcome their obstacles?         

     This course will study group dynamics and leadership theories using the Tuskegee Airmen experiment as a basis. We will examine how racism can be successfully combated with ethics, and how goal setting, nonverbal communications, quality performance, and strong-group leadership can overcome seemingly insurmountable obstacles.

II.   Goals and Objectives:

A. Examine how groups can operate in a management and organizational setting using the Tuskegee Airmen's persistence, ethics, and commitment to excellence as a basis.

B. To learn how a group can succeed in its objectives without top-management support.

C. To study how individual’s performance and nonverbal communications affects a group’s outcome.

D. To understand how nonverbal communications can be used (positively or negatively) to jump gaps in cultures, management, and social status.

E. To understand that many problems can only be solved through groups.

     This course provides students with an opportunity to study a hierarchal organization using leadership and group dynamic theories as applied under extreme conditions and how these theories are not mutually exclusive, but rather codependent to insure success.  

     The Tuskegee Airmen – A Study in Group-Leadership Theory and Nonverbal Communication, is well within the guidelines of the Hiram Mission Statement as well as being an invaluable aspect of the Business Management major. It demonstrates through many varied examples (business case histories, class group experiences, communication variables, and effective group dynamics under duress) how one’s oral, nonverbal behavior, and written communication skills, guided by social responsibility and ethics, can prepare one for successful leadership under the most extreme conditions.

III.   Course Expectations:

Texts

Tubbs/Moss  Human Communication Principles and Contents (Tenth Edition) McGraw-Hill Higher Education ISBN 0-07-325199-2
Homan, Lynn M., Reily, Thomas (2001).   Black knights: the story of the Tuskegee airmen.   Louisiana : Pelican Publishing 

Return to top of page

Course Intention

A. To demonstrate how leadership and goal setting in groups can overcome obstacles.

B. To examine how a group designed to fail by management, can still succeed.

C. To illustrate how subgroups and their behavior contribute to the success or failure of an organizational goal.

D. To understand how ethics and nonverbal communications coupled with strong group leadership skills can offer a formidable opposition to stereotyping and racism.

E. To study nonverbal communications involving management styles, cultural differences, and public perceptions.

    The Tuskegee Experiment is a classic example of how a group can succeed in their mission when outside-managerial influences are determined for them to fail.  This course offers a hands-on experience in business groups and team case studies allowing groups to succeed in their goals even when outside leadership is conflicting.  Using nonverbal communications to reinforce important group objectives and cross cultural barriers is an important part of this course. Students will be divided into groups and given an objective, but support from the professor will be hampering, at best. The evolving group dynamics should reach a necessary level for goal attainment. Similar conflicts frequently occur in today’s business world when technology and older CEO’s often experience conflicts with more modern subordinate groups and their objectives.

Research Paper

     A research paper required by each student will consist of three components (The below listed topics are subject to change): 

     (1)  Why did the Tuskegee Airmen/Women want to fight for the United States when their country was segregated, limiting their rights and privileges, allowing "Jim Crow" laws to prevail, and ignoring their accomplishments? (2) If the methods the Tuskegee Airmen/Women used in the 1940s to resolve their goals were applied today, would the results be favorable or not?  Why? (3) Why did it take so long for this country to become aware of the Tuskegee Airmen/women and start to recognize their accomplishments - 1941-1943, yet first movie in 1992, first Tuskegee membership group established in 1972?  (4) In a class assigned-group, research and write a 20-30 page chapter on the Tuskegee Women.

     The Spring 2004 Hiram College Class is writing a book on the Tuskegee women. The class has been broken into three groups, each group charged with writing one chapter on the Tuskegee Women.  Subsequent Hiram College classes will also write chapters until the text is completed.

     This research will require personal interviews, Internet research, newspaper and magazine article research, and some inquiries involving actual case studies of various businesses. A list of over 14,000 Tuskegee Members has been purchased for $60.00 from T.J. Johnson Enterprises, 880 Oriole Dr. SW, Atlanta, Ga. 309311-2421, to help our research.

The Group Analysis and Case Studies

     The class will be divided into groups to examine actual business case studies and learn from hands-on experience how their own group dynamics evolve.  Civilian case studies involving business problems can be related very easily to similar problems encountered by the Tuskegee Airmen experience.  Another case study will involve the effects of nonverbal communications with the Tuskegee airmen’s struggles. There will also be assignments (not graded) containing very difficult obstacles to test the student's perseverance and ability to overcome such impediments. The final exam will be a group effort (5-to 6 students in a group) locating, interviewing, and doing research on a Tuskegee Women and then submitting a 20-30 page chapter for the book in progress, The Tuskegee Women.

Attendance, academic honesty, and class behavior are expected to be equal to or exceed the guidelines already established in our Student Handbook.

Class reading assignments are expected to be completed before class.
Return to top of page

IV.   Assessment and Evaluation:

1.      Tests:

In class - first exam = 25% = Short answer, multiple choice, fill in the blank,
matching, true & false. Involves the Tuskegee Airmen history, group dynamics.

Two Research Papers on Tuskegee Airmen = 25% The below topics are subject to change.
     (1) Why did the Tuskegee Airmen/women want to fight for the United States when their country was segregated, limiting their rights and privileges, allowing "Jim Crow" laws to prevail, and ignoring their accomplishments?
     (2) If the methods the Tuskegee Airmen/Women used in the 1940s to resolve their goals were applied today, would the results be favorable or not?  Why?
     (3) Why did it take so long for this country to become aware of the Tuskegee Airmen/women and start to recognize their accomplishments - 1941-1943, yet first movie in 1992, first Tuskegee membership group established in 1972?

Class group Case Studies = 15% of final grade.
Field trip, last class = 10% of grade.

2.    Grading Policies:

     a. Attendance as part of grade = 0%
b. Class participation encouraged and required for class-group assignments; however, class participation will not be a portion of the student’s grade.        
c. Makeup work will be more difficult than the original assignment.
d. 1/2 letter grade will be deducted for work up to 2 days late, 1 letter grade for 2-5 days late, not accepted after 5 days late.

3.    Grading Rubric 93-100 = A, 90-92 = A-, 87-89 = B+, 83-86 = B, 80-82 = B-, 77-80 = C+, 74-76 = C, 70-72 = C-, 67-69 = D+, 63-66 = D  60-62 = D-, 60< = F

4.    Written Work Guidelines: typed, double spaced, 12 pt font, 1” margins.

5.    Extra Credit may be offered, but not in place of required tests and assignments. Extra credit may be offered     equaling 10% of the final grade.

6.    Plagiarism will be addressed as outlined in the College Student Handbook.
 

V.   Resources:

1. Assigned texts

2. Videos on the Tuskegee experience

3. Group projects and case studies in class

           4. Research on the Internet and through libraries and periodicals.

5. Guest speakers and/or field trips.

6. Tuskegee Websites, Group Dynamics Websites.

VI.   Schedule:
Return to top of page

Tentative Syllabus
4-hour class sessions

The Tuskegee Airmen-A Study in Group-Leadership Theory
Fall 2005 WEC  

Session I
                      Text – Black Knights – The Story of Tuskegee Airmen - Chapters I through III – to be read before first class
                  Text – Human Communication - no pre-reading assignment
                  Video – HBO - The Tuskegee Airmen  -  Laurence Fishburne
                  Assignment - Group selection for the Tuskegee Woman book chapter due last class. (See Outline Below)
                  Discussion - Jim Crow Laws
Session II

                  Text - Black Knights – Story of Tuskegee Airmen   Chapters IV through V
                  Text – Human Communication - Chapter two - Personal Perception
                  Text – Human Communication - Chapter twelve - pages 377 to 388
                  Lecture - The Tuskegee Airmen's Group Interactions Compared To Today's Businesses
                  Video – The Tuskegee Airmen – They Fought Two Wars.               
                  Progress on Tuskegee Woman Chapter - sample group research and writing assignment - Part I
                  Group exercise - Does a Natural Leader Emerge?
                  Essay to be assigned - Why did the Tuskegee Airmen fight for a country that didn't want them? - 5% of grade

Session III

                  Text - Black Knights – Story of Tuskegee Airmen Chapters VI through VIII
                  Text – Human Communication - Chapter four - The Nonverbal Message
                  Text – Human Communication - Chapter twelve - pages 388 to 404
                  Progress on Tuskegee Woman Chapter - sample group research and writing assignment - Part II
                  Lecture - The Tuskegee Airmen Passive Excellence as Nonverbal Communications
                  Video – Nightfighters – The True Story of the 332^nd Fighter Group – The Tuskegee Airmen
               One-hour test – 20% of grade
                  Pizza party in class.
                          

Session IV
          
                     Text - Black Knights – Story of Tuskegee Airmen Chapters IX through XI

                  Text – Human Communication - Chapter 6 - Conflict and Negotiation
                 
                  Text – Human Communication - Chapter twelve - pages 404 to 413

                  Progress on Tuskegee Woman Chapter - sample group research and writing assignment - Part III
                 
                  Lecture - The Tuskegee Airmen's Arrest at Freedom Field - A Different Group Dynamics
 
                  Group Exercise - handling group conflict
                  
                  Essay to be assigned in class - Why were the Tuskegee Airmen able to succeed? - 5% of Grade
                 
                  DVD - Passion and Discipline

                  Guest Speaker

Session V

                 Text - Black Knights – Story of Tuskegee Airmen Chapters XII through XIII
                 Text – Human Communication - Chapter Seven - Ethics and Communication
                  Progress on Tuskegee Woman Chapter - Group Values and Obligations
                  Lecture - The Tuskegee Airmen's 4-Test GAP Problem-Solving Model - Part 1
                  Lecture: - USS Mason, 761st Tank Battalion, Red Ball Express, Buffalo Soldiers, Triple Nickels
                  One-hour test – 20% of grade

Session VI

                 Text - Black Knights – Story of Tuskegee Airmen Chapters XIV through XV
                 Text – Human Communication - Chapter Ten - Intercultural Communication
                  Lecture: The Tuskegee Airmen's 4-Test GAP Problem-Solving Model - Part 2
               Progress on Tuskegee Woman Chapter - Putting it together
                  Take Home Final issued

Session VII
                  
                  Field trip – Tuskegee Banquet or Celebration - attendance = 10% of grade.
 
                  Take Home Final Due - 20% of grade

                  Chapter on Tuskegee Woman - Due 7 days after last class session in digital format - 20% of Grade


Return to top of page

VII.           Epilog

     This course is designed to offer a hands-on experience in business-group case studies allowing groups to succeed in their goals even when outside leadership is poor, not supportive, and/or conflicting.  Nonverbal communications, a very powerful tool if used correctly, will be interwoven with class case studies. The texts and study materials presented in this course are dynamic and will change with altering outside influences, such as technology advances and accepted business ethics and cultures. The Tuskegee Experiment, however, should remain as a steady constant for group-dynamic comparison analysis to any currently accepted theory.  The longer the class is taught, the more refined and efficient the presented material will be.

  Hiram College
New Course Proposal Form

Course Proposer: Roger F. Cram     Credit Hours  4
Course Title: The Tuskegee Airmen-A Study in Group-Leadership Theory and Nonverbal Communications 
Department/Level  INDT 381 Communications/Management    Frequency of Offering   As needed
Relationship to departmental requirements: Correlative for Communications/ Management Major
Course Description to appear in the Hiram College Catalog:

     In 1925, Major General H. E. Ely, commandant of the War College , responded to a study ordered by the War Department entitled “The Use of Negro Manpower in War.” Ely concluded, “…that black men were cowards and poor technicians and fighters, lacking initiative and resourcefulness.”  Ely further stated that the average black man’s brain weight only 35 ounces, while the average white man’s brain weight 45 ounces. This report “proved” to most officials that the black man’s role in the military should be limited to closely supervised menial jobs and that they should be kept segregated from whites because they were “…a subspecies of the human population.”

     In 1941, the black man was finally allowed to train in aircraft through a civilian program at the Tuskegee Airfield in Alabama . The program, however, was to show that black men did not posses “what it takes” to be fighter pilots in a white man’s air core.  Many government officials went to great extremes to insure the program would fail.

     Despite many, almost insurmountable obstacles intentionally placed in the way of their success, the black Tuskegee-trained airmen triumphed over all opposition and developed into the most skilled and formidable fighting air force ever known.  How could this be when the architecture of the Tuskegee Airmen program was designed for failure?  How did the Tuskegee Airmen’s group dynamics serve as a “substitute for outside- managerial leadership?  How did nonverbal communications play a major role in the Tuskegee Airmen achieving their objectives? How did the Tuskegee group leaders employ various leadership theories to successfully overcome their obstacles?         

     This course will study group dynamics and leadership theories using the Tuskegee Airmen experiment as a basis. We will examine how racism can be successfully combated with ethics, and how goal setting, nonverbal communications, and strong-group leadership can overcome seemingly insurmountable obstacles.

Prerequisite: None

Adequacy of library or other resources and facilities (if there are special needs which must be filled to be able to offer this course please indicate their nature and extent): Adequate

Impact on departmental staffing: None, taught by adjunct faculty.
Course(s) to be eliminated to accommodate proposed new course: No courses eliminated
Please attach a proposed syllabus, reading list, and other relevant support materials.
 
Homan, Lynn M., Reily, Thomas (2001).   Black knights: the story of the Tuskegee airmen. : Pelican Publishing

Return to top of page