Tuskegee Airmen scrapbook compiled by Daisy McMurray Crockett: Museum Object and Cultural History

The object in the museum catalogue

A scrapbook filled with newspaper and magazine clippings related to the missions and lives of the Tuskegee Airmen between 1943 and 1945. The scrapbook was compiled by Daisy McMurray Crockett, the wife of airman Woodrow W. Crockett. The pages of the scrapbook are bound between two faux leather covers with an open binding on the left side. The cover is red with tooled designs and features two small children dressed in Dutch clothing colored in gold. Below the figures the words [Scrap Book] appear in relief.

The scrapbook is approximately 80 sheets of paper with all but the last 3-4 pages filled with hundreds of clippings, predominantly from magazines and newspapers. The source of most of the clippings is not identified, but those that are identified come from a number of publications, including the Hawk's Cry (a semi-monthly newsletter from the Tuskegee Institute), Yank Army Weekly, Selfridge Field News, Arkansas Survey-Journal, Pittsburgh Courier, Arkansas Democrat, Chicago Defender, and the Afro-American. Many of the articles from the Pittsburgh Courier were written by Edgar T. Rouzeau and feature the double VV for victory campaign. The articles focus almost exclusively on the Tuskegee Airmen and their service. Benjamin O. Davis, Charles B. Hall, Capt. George Spencer Roberts, Othal Dickson, Charles H. Debow, Col. Robert Selway, Bishop John A. Gregg, the 99th Pursuit Squadron, the 100th fighter squadron, the 332d Fighter Group, the 553d Fighter-Bomber Squadron, and the 477th Bombardment Group are prominently featured.

There is a small paper parachute folded and placed between two pages near the middle of the book. There are also a series of full page pictures of different aircraft flown by the USAAF.

Materials, dates and provenance

• Date: 1943-1945
• Created by: Daisy McMurray Crockett, American, died 2000
• Subject of: Tuskegee Airmen, 1941 - 1946
• Subject of: 332d Fighter Group, American, 1942 - 1949
• Subject of: 99th Pursuit Squadron, American, 1941 - 1949
• Subject of: 100th Fighter Squadron, American, 1942 - 1945
• Subject of: Benjamin O. Davis Jr., American, 1912 - 2002
• Subject of: Maj. Charles B. Hall, American, 1920 - 1971
• Subject of: The Chicago Defender, American, founded 1905
• Type: scrapbooks
• Medium: paper, ink on newsprint, cardboard, imitation leather
• Dimensions: 14 1/2 x 12 x 2 3/4 in. (36.8 x 30.5 x 7 cm)
• Place made: Little Rock, Pulaski County, Arkansas, United States, North and Central America
• Place depicted: Tuskegee Army Air Field, Tuskegee, Macon County, Alabama, United States, North and Central America
• Place depicted: Selfridge Field, Macomb County, Michigan, United States, North and Central America
• Topic: African American
• Topic: Aeronautics
• Topic: Black Press
• Topic: Families
• Topic: Mass media
• Topic: Military
• Topic: Segregation
• Topic: Tuskegee Airmen
• Object number: 2012.43.4
• Credit Line: Collection of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture, Gift of Lt. Col. Woodrow W. Crockett
• Data Source: National Museum of African American History and Culture

Sources and reuse

Catalogue descriptions and facts adapted from National Museum of African American History and Culture through the Smithsonian's official Open Access dataset. This record explicitly marks its metadata CC0 1.0; formatting and selection have been changed. The underlying object's rights statement is: Unknown - Restrictions Possible Rights assessment and proper usage is the responsibility of the user.