Texas State Rep. Nicole Collier led efforts to pass a bill designating the fourth Thursday of March as Tuskegee Airmen Commemoration Day for a 10-year period ending in 2035. She gave a speech during a celebration at the Tuskegee Airmen Texas State Veterans Home, 2200 Joe B. Rushing Rd, on Thursday morning.
Kamal Morgan
Texas’ first Tuskegee Airmen Commemoration Day was recognized on Thursday at the State Veterans Home named in honor of the first African-American military aviators.
The ceremony was held at the Tuskegee Airmen Texas State Veterans Home, 2200 Joe B. Rushing Road, with dozens of veterans, politicians and staff in attendance. Gov. Greg Abbott signed the commemoration day into law in May 2025. Efforts to recognize it were led by Rep. Nicole Collier of Fort Worth.
The commemoration offered a moment of education and reflection on the Tuskegee Airmen’s legacy, defined by their excellence, unmatched discipline, and ability to shatter false narratives about who was capable of leading in the United States military, according to Collier.
“It ensures that future generations understand that progress comes from those willing to challenge the status quo, that excellence is a form of resistance, and that even against systemic barriers, individuals can rise to redefine what is possible,” Collier said.
Collier presented a framed copy of the bill to the Veterans Home. It designates the fourth Thursday of March as Tuskegee Airmen Commemoration Day through 2035.
She wore a red coat, an ode to the Tuskegee Airmen’s red tails on their fighter bombers, which was given to her earlier in the ceremony by the Claude R. Platte DFW Chapter of the Tuskegee Airmen Association for her support of the organization.
The Tuskegee Airmen were a group of more than 900 African-American military pilots and airmen who flew combat aircraft in World War II. They flew more than 1,500 missions in North Africa and Italy.
The group was subjected to discrimination during their time in the Armed Forces, but has since been honored for their legacy and wartime achievements. The airmen were collectively awarded a Congressional Gold Medal in 2007, inducted into the International Air & Space Hall of Fame in 2008, and commemorated in the George Lucas film “Red Tails” in 2012.
Fort Worth was home to at least five Tuskegee Airmen. Claude Platte Jr., for whom the chapter is named, graduated from I.M. Terrell High School and helped train Tuskegee Airmen. He died in 2013. The city’s last surviving member, Robert T. McDaniel, died in 2019 at 96.
Al Henderson, president of the DFW Chapter Tuskegee Airmen Association, said the idea of the day came over a decade ago when Platte and McDaniel suggested having a day to honor the legacy of the Tuskegee Airmen. When the surviving members began to die, they worked with Collier to create a day for the military pilots.
Two years ago, Collier worked with the association to start writing a bill. In April 2025, she had Henderson and Leon Butler, the national president of the Tuskegee Airmen Inc., testify before the Senate Subcommittee on Veterans’ Affairs on behalf of the bill. The bill was passed during the 89th Legislature Session on May 5, 2025.
Henderson says the legacy of the Tuskegee Airmen needs to be remembered.
“It’s something that we feel needs to be adequately addressed, because it’s not only part of Black history, it’s part of American history,” Henderson said.
The Texas Veterans Land Board voted to name the state’s 10th veterans home after the Tuskegee Airmen in August 2021. The Tuskegee Airmen Texas State Veterans Home opened in May 2025. The 100,000-square-foot home will provide long-term nursing care for 120 veterans. Veterans with a 70% or more service-connected disability rating are eligible to live in the home at no cost.
Texas Veterans Land Board Chairwoman Dawn Buckingham said they are celebrating the men who fought against discrimination and changed the country, and that their courage is something people can learn from and strive to emulate.
“We stand on the shoulders of the giants that came before us,” Buckingham said. “The Tuskegee Airmen were definitely giants and in them and through them, and through their sacrifice, they still live in us and through us. It’s why this nursing home is named how it is. It is why we have these celebrations yearly, because they will never be forgotten.”
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Kamal Morgan covers racial equity issues for the Fort Worth Star-Telegram. He came to Texas from the Pensacola News Journal in Florida. Send tips to his email or Twitter.