As 20th Century Fox was preparing to release the movie Red Tails, the inspiring story of the World War II Tuskegee Airmen, representatives of the studio contacted the Ben Franklin Global Forum to partner on the Philadelphia region premiere of the film.

The Forum worked with Derrick Pitts, the Chief Astronomer at the Franklin Institute, who also served as the president of the Greater Philadelphia Chapter of Tuskegee Airmen. He arranged for a group of these heroes to join for a panel discussion at the film’s premiere at the United Artists Theater in King of Prussia.

Local ROTC and NROTC college students, Valley Forge Military Academy attendees as well as high schoolers participating in Sea Cadets were invited to attend as guests of the Forum. There they had the opportunity to meet the DOTA’s (Documented Original Tuskegee Airmen), ask questions and have a group photograph.