評論
打印
And I'd like to begin today by reflecting on that history
今天，我想追溯歷史，
starting back at the time when the Army chose Tuskegee as the site of its airfield and flight school for black pilots.
從軍隊將塔斯基吉選為黑人飛行員的機場和飛行學校的時刻講起。
Back then, black soldiers faced all kinds of obstacles.
當時，黑人士兵面臨著各種各樣的障礙。
There were the so-called scientific studies that said that black men's brains were smaller than white men's.
一些所謂的科學研究表明，黑人男性的大腦比白人男性的大腦小一些，不夠發(fā)達。
Official Army reports stated that black soldiers were "childlike," "shiftless," "unmoral and untruthful,"
官方軍隊報告指出，黑人士兵“孩子氣”、“無能”、“不道德且不誠實”，
and as one quote stated, "if fed, loyal and compliant."
并專門強調(diào)，“如果要進入美國聯(lián)邦儲備系統(tǒng)，就要忠誠和順從”。
So while the Airmen selected for this program were actually highly educated
因此，盡管入選該計劃的黑人飛行員實際上已經(jīng)受過高等教育，
many already had college degrees and pilots licenses -- they were presumed to be inferior.
而且他們中的很多人已經(jīng)擁有大學學位和飛行員執(zhí)照，但是他們被認定為低人一等。
During training, they were often assigned to menial tasks like housekeeping or landscaping.
培訓期間，他們常常被分配給粗活兒，如家務、綠化等。
Many suffered verbal abuse at the hands of their instructors.
導師還經(jīng)常會辱罵他們。
When they ventured off base, the white sheriff here in town called them "boy" and ticketed them for the most minor offenses.
當他們離開軍營，鎮(zhèn)上的白人警長稱他們?yōu)椤澳泻?quot;，并為一些小事就給他們開罰單。
And when they finally deployed overseas, white soldiers often wouldn't even return their salutes.
當他們終于被部署在海外，白人士兵甚至常常不回應他們的致敬。
