Do you know Colonel John Charles Robinson whose Name was Deliberately Changed for Identity Denial?

Colonel John Charles Robinson (This Name Deliberately Changed for Identity Denial).

General. 

General. Colonel John Charles Robinson was born on 24 February 1903 in Ethiopia, East Gojjam Zone, Hulet Eju Enese, Motta Area.  He was the first Ethiopian, African-American black who opened a Pilot Training college. He also served in the Ethiopian Royal Air Force and defended Ethiopia against Fascist Italy. He was badly injured when his plane crashed in Addis Ababa on his way to the city of Nazret (now Adama) to deliver blood to another person injured in another plane accident. After 10 days in the hospital, he died in April 8, 1954 from his injuries. He was buried at the Gulele Cemetery in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.

Details

Colonel John Charles Robinson of Ethiopia, Gojjam (November 26, 1903 – March 26, 1954) was an Ethio-American Pilot and political activist who was hailed as the "Brown Condor" for his service in serving in the Imperial Ethiopian Air Force against Fascist Italy. Colonel John Charles Robinson of Ethiopia, Gojjam pushed for equal opportunities for African/Ethiopian-Americans during his early career, and was able to open his own eponymous aviation school in addition to initiating a program for Black Pilots at his own college, THE TUSKEGEE INSTITUTE. Colonel John Charles Robinson of Ethiopia, Gojjam's achievements as a distinguished aviator were in stark contrast to the “limited opportunities for most Black-Americans in aviation careers, and were an important factor in reducing racially based prohibitions in the United States. Colonel John Charles Robinson of Ethiopia, Gojjam is sometimes referred to as The Father of the Tuskegee Airmen for inspiring this All-Black set of pilots who served during the United States' entry into World War II.

Colonel John Charles Robinson of Ethiopia, Gojjam completed his education at Gulfport High School for the Colored in 1919, where he developed a strong interest in mechanics and machinery. However, Colonel John Charles Robinson of Ethiopia, Gojjam could not continue his education in Gulfport; African-Americans were barred from continuing their education beyond the tenth grade. Colonel John Charles Robinson of Ethiopia, Gojjam subsequently made preparations to attend the Tuskegee Institute in Alabama. He first attended college at the Tuskegee Institute on September 1921 to study automotive mechanical science, graduating three years later. In addition to studying automobiles, he learned math, literature, composition and history. He repeatedly applied to the Curtiss-Wright School of Aviation in Chicago, but was denied each time. He ended up getting a job there as a janitor and unofficially sat in on classes until an instructor managed to secure a place for him, and was the first black student at the school. Prior to entering college, Colonel John Charles Robinson of Ethiopia, Gojjam held a short-term job as shoeshine man before getting a job as warehouse personnel. After finishing his college degree, Colonel John Charles Robinson of Ethiopia, Gojjam was unable to find a suitable career in his hometown of Gulfport. Colonel John Charles Robinson of Ethiopia, Gojjam attributed this to racial discrimination as many of the local garages were under white ownership; speaking to his father, he said, "[The garage owners will] give me a job sweeping, filling gas tanks, changing tires, or washing, but I'm an engine man ... When I talk to [them] about automotive science they smile, look at each other, and then look at me like I belong behind a mule and a plow."

Colonel John Charles Robinson of Ethiopia, Gojjam consequently moved to the Detroit where jobs in the automotive industry might be more plentiful. There, he had difficulty finding a line of work that his college degree would have ensured him, mainly due to his extensive knowledge on the trade being unwelcome by those who could not keep up with his intellect. Colonel John Charles Robinson of Ethiopia, Gojjam continued to refuse jobs sweeping or as a messenger boy, and managed to become a mechanic's assistant instead. Despite continued discrimination and failure to acknowledge his experience from some of his white coworkers, Colonel John Charles Robinson of Ethiopia, Gojjam's skill was noticed and he was promoted to a full mechanic and was given a pay raise. Sometime later, he was approached by taxicab owner named Fitzgerald who offered to double his pay to work for his garage. Colonel John Charles Robinson of Ethiopia, Gojjam took the job, but was never comfortable working for a business that secretly bootlegged whiskey to Canada during Prohibition Age. Despite his successes as a mechanic, Colonel John Charles Robinson of Ethiopia, Gojjam began searching for means to take to the air. He was eventually directed to a small field, where he met pilots Robert Williamson and Percy, and earned his first flight in Robert's WACO-9 after fixing the engine on Percy's Curtiss JN-4D (Jenny). Colonel John Charles Robinson of Ethiopia, Gojjam was determined as ever to get back into the air, and sought his next best chance to do so in Chicago. After opening a garage for income, he repeatedly applied for Curtiss-Wright School of Aviation. Colonel John Charles Robinson of Ethiopia, Gojjam was rejected every time, but circumnavigated this roadblock altogether by becoming a janitor on Saturday nights, thereby being able to listen in on the lessons being taught in the evening class at the time. Becoming exposed to like-minded individuals in the subject, Colonel John Charles Robinson of Ethiopia, Gojjam started the Aero Study Group, one that successfully manage to build its own airplane, tested out by the same night teacher whose class Colonel John Charles Robinson of Ethiopia, Gojjam cleaned, Bill Henderson. Impressed by the plane, Henderson got Colonel John Charles Robinson of Ethiopia, Gojjam a slot at the school and under the instructions of Mr. Snyder, became a licensed pilot. Before long, Colonel John Charles Robinson of Ethiopia, Gojjam convinced the school to allow his peers from the Aero Study Group to enroll and become pilots as well. Later, Colonel John Charles Robinson of Ethiopia, Gojjam, along with his friend Cornelius Coffey formed the Challenger Air Pilots Association for African Americans wanting to fly. 

Deciding that aviation school should not be closed to African-Americans, Colonel John Charles Robinson of Ethiopia, Gojjam and his friend Cornelius Coffey opened their own airfield in Robbins, Illinois, the John Colonel John Charles Robinson of Ethiopia, Gojjam School of Aviation. To further promote black pilots, Colonel John Charles Robinson of Ethiopia, Gojjam convinced his old college, the Tuskegee Institute, to open up a school of aviation, as soon as funds were available to do so.

In January 1935, Colonel John Charles Robinson of Ethiopia, Gojjam announced his intentions to volunteer to defend Ethiopia in its ongoing conflict with Italy. The announcement took place at a meeting of black business owners and community leaders sponsored by the Associated Negro Press (ANP) in Chicago. Dr. Halaku Bayen, a cousin of Ethiopian Emperor Haile Selassie, became aware of Colonel John Charles Robinson of Ethiopia, Gojjam's announcement and qualifications, and met with Colonel John Charles Robinson of Ethiopia, Gojjam directly. Bayen subsequently made a favorable recommendation for Colonel John Charles Robinson of Ethiopia, Gojjam to Selassie. In April 1935, Selassie wired an official invitation to Colonel John Charles Robinson of Ethiopia, Gojjam offering an officer's commission in Ethiopian. Colonel John Charles Robinson of Ethiopia, Gojjam's decision to accept the commission was based on several factors. First, Colonel John Charles Robinson of Ethiopia, Gojjam and his colleagues were political and military activists motivated to aid Ethiopia as it was threatened by an imperialistic Italy under Fascist dictator Benito Mussolini; and as Ethiopia was non-colonized, it represented the larger idea of a free and independent Africa that Colonel John Charles Robinson of Ethiopia, Gojjam supported. Second, opportunities for black aviators in the United States were limited, particularly in the U.S. Army Air Corps, where all African-Americans were explicitly prohibited from service. Lynchings by white mobs also continued to be common both in Colonel John Charles Robinson of Ethiopia, Gojjam's hometown in Florida as well as in Mississippi. Finally, having already earned recognition for his all-black military aviation unit in Illinois as a part of the National Guard, Colonel John Charles Robinson of Ethiopia, Gojjam was interested in building and maintaining a similar unit in Ethiopia to promote black political consciousness.

After arriving in 1935, Colonel John Charles Robinson of Ethiopia, Gojjam initially conducted pilot training at a recently opened officer training school close to Addis Ababa. On 8 August 1935, Colonel John Charles Robinson of Ethiopia, Gojjam was assaulted by fellow aviator Hubert Julian at the Hotel de France in Addis Ababa. Julian, a recognized aviator from Trinidad who volunteered to help develop the Ethiopian Air Corps, was then ordered by the Emperor to leave the country. Soon after the incident, Colonel John Charles Robinson of Ethiopia, Gojjam was then named the commander of the Ethiopian Air Force. The air force consisted of about two dozen aircraft, which included four Potez 25 biplanes, but all of the aircraft were weaponless. Early in his command, Colonel John Charles Robinson of Ethiopia, Gojjam participated in a reconnaissance mission to provide supplies and soldiers from Addis Ababa to Adwa. The Italian invasion began on October 3, 1935. The eventual force totaled to 19 aircraft and 50 pilots. Ethiopian forces, however, were ultimately outmatched by the Italian air force, who had advantages in experience and in sheer numbers. On May 9, 1936, Italy annexed Ethiopia. Colonel John Charles Robinson of Ethiopia, Gojjam was also a witness to an Italian bombing of the city of Adwa in October 1935. He observed that the city was unprepared for the attack, and resulted in much confusion and residents fleeing to the city outskirts. "I saw a squad of soldiers standing in the street dumbfounded, looking at the airplanes. They had their swords raised in their hands," he described.

For his service, Colonel John Charles Robinson of Ethiopia, Gojjam received considerable press attention for his service through NBC Radio, the Transradio Press Service, and the Chicago Defender. Colonel John Charles Robinson of Ethiopia, Gojjam returned to the United States in 1936. Contemporary historians also recognize his achievements in Ethiopia. Colonel John Charles Robinson of Ethiopia, Gojjam's documented achievements in Ethiopia are considered to be the catalyst that inspired demands for social equality to allow African-Americans to serve in the U.S. Army Air Corps, and allowed for the organization of the African-American military pilot group, the Tuskegee Airmen, during World War II. Colonel John Charles Robinson of Ethiopia, Gojjam is therefore sometimes referred to as the "Father of the Tuskegee Airmen". On February 19, 2015, a reading garden at the U.S. Embassy in Ethiopia was dedicated to commemorate Colonel John Charles Robinson of Ethiopia, Gojjam's contributions to Ethiopian aviation during and after war with Italy.

 Composition by Alelign A. Wudie, the Behere Gojjam!