‘Black Angels Over Tuskegee’ opens New Horizon Theater’s 33rd season

LAYON GRAY by Genea L. Webb For New Pittsburgh Courier New Horizon Theater Inc., has decided to bring back Layon Gray’s “Black Angels Over Tuskegee” to ring in its new season. “Black Angels Over Tuskegee” has always been a Pittsburgh favorite, explained Gray. “When I brought it here in 2013 at the Byham Theater and in 2014 at the Kelly Strayhorn Theater, both shows did well,” he told the New Pittsburgh Courier. “Black Angels Over Tuskegee” follows the lives of six Black men who became unlikely heroes and brothers in arms as they endured overt racism to become the first African American aviators in the United States Army Air Force. The sextet came together to be a part of the Army Air Corps program, an initiative designed to train Blacks in flying and maintaining combat aircraft while in flight. The Tuskegee Airmen made up one of the most esteemed fighter divisions in World War II, being known as the 99th Pursuit Squadron. They proved that Blacks could fly and maintain complex combat airplanes, which led to the full integration of the U.S. armed forces. Known for having the uncanny ability to pull out a nugget of Black history and build...