Guest
Major Daniel Walker grew up hearing stories about his great-uncle Norman Scales who was one of the legendary Tuskegee airmen in WWII, and as a young man, he chose to follow in his footsteps. Walker excelled in flight school and earned a top spot as an F-22 pilot. He had been warned about the racism he would face, and after 11-years of enduring it, he decided to leave. At one point Walker was told, “You’re big, you’re Black, with a deep voice. You’re intimidating, and if you want to move on, you have to do something about it.” • “This story is not uncommon,” Walker explained. “I could very easily attribute this interaction to that action on my part, but when you compare stories from people you’ve never met, and they’re almost identical, down to the individual, down to the comment, you realize these are not singular events in the person’s life.” • No matter how Walker conducted himself, his behavior was interpreted negatively. When he was in flight school, he was criticized for enjoying himself too
