February 2, 2009

LIBRARY WELCOMES TUSKEGEE AIRMAN

Celebrating Black History Month, the Tampa-Hillsborough County Public Library System welcomes Tuskegee Airman, Retired Lieutenant Colonel Dr. Hiram E. Mann, on the following dates:

Tuesday, February 24 at 7:00 p.m. at the Jan Kaminis Platt Regional Library, 3910 South Manhattan Avenue, Tampa.

Wednesday, February 25 at 2:00 p.m. at the SouthShore Regional Library, 15816 Beth Shields Way, Ruskin.

Wednesday, February 25 at 7:00 p.m. at the New Tampa Regional Library, 10001 Cross Creek Boulevard, Tampa.

Retired Lieutenant Colonel Dr. Hiram E. Mann takes part in our Black History Month celebration by sharing his experience as part of the "Tuskegee Airmen" during WWII. These men were dedicated, determined young men who enlisted to become America's first black military airmen trained at Tuskegee Army Air Field (TAAF) in Tuskegee Alabama. They pride themselves on never having lost a bomber they escorted in World War II.

Dr. Mann will discuss being one of the first 450 black airmen to serve combat missions which paved the way for full integration of the U.S. military. In honor of his heroic service, Dr. Mann was honored in 2008 with the Congressional Gold Medal.

This program is cosponsored by the Friends of the Library Development Committee, Friends of the SouthShore Regional Library and the Friends of the New Tampa Regional Library. For more information about this and other FREE programs @ your library®, please call (813) 273-3652 or visit hcplc.org.