Delaware State University honors Tuskegee Airmen, inspiring the next generation of aviation leaders

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At Delaware State University, history and the future of aviation met in the same room.

University students, high schoolers and community members gathered last week for the 2026 Tuskegee Airmen Commemoration Day Celebration and Aviation Expo, an event honoring the legacy of the pioneering Black military pilots while introducing the next generation to careers in flight.

The event featured aviation workshops, exhibits and a screening of “Red Tails,” a 2012 film about the Tuskegee Airmen and their service during World War II. The expo is meant to connect the achievements of the Tuskegee Airmen in modern aviation opportunities and career pathways.

For the university, the commemoration also reflects a legacy rooted in its own history. During World War II, the university served as one of the instruction locations connected to the Civilian Pilot Training Program that prepared Black pilots, some of whom would later become known as the Tuskegee Airmen. Today, the university continues that legacy through one of the nation’s leading aviation programs at a historically Black university.

Kelvin Lesene, director of aviation programs at the university, said the program helps create opportunities for students who have been historically underrepresented in aviation.

“What this program does is really helps train our students — and students of color particularly — to give them an opportunity to take roles in not only the aviation in the cockpit, but also in the aviation sector as a whole,” he said. “We don’t just train pilots, we train aviation professionals as well.”

The university launched its aviation program in 1987 and remains one of only a handful of historically Black colleges and universities offering such aviation training. Since then, the program has grown significantly in recent years.

“When I was a student here, we had about nine or 10 aircraft. Now, we wholly own 25 aircraft that are part of our fleet,” Lesene said. “We have 206 total students in the program. We also have a helicopter training program similar to the fixed-wing program.”

But for him, honoring the Tuskegee Airmen is about recognizing the people who made programs like the university’s possible.

“As we always say, Black history is American history. It’s important that we take the stance in the understanding that, you know, we don’t get here, I don’t have an opportunity to train students of color, to train students of pilot students at all probably, if it was not for the Tuskegee airmen,” he said.

For Kai Wright, a junior aviation major at the university, the event carries personal meaning. Wright is a private pilot and a member of the U.S. Air Force Reserve who said learning about the Tuskegee Airmen reminds her of the pioneers who helped clear the path for pilots like her.

“What brought me in today at this event was to pay homage to the Tuskegee Airmen and honor the people who have come before me and who have paved the runway for me,” she said.

Her dream of becoming a pilot started early, during a childhood trip to Disney.

“I knew I wanted to be a pilot since my first Disney trip,” she said. “But I didn’t see a lot of people in the cockpit who looked like me, so I didn’t know that it was even possible.”

That changed when she discovered the Tuskegee NEXT program, which honors the legacy of the Tuskegee Airmen by offering free flight training and mentorship.

She shared a core memory of the moment she flew solo for the first time — a milestone every pilot works toward.

“Soloing is a really big deal in the aviation world. I took off and landed on my own, it was awesome,” Wright said. “As I was going in the sky, I was looking around at the world and I was just like, ‘God’s creation is so beautiful. The world is so beautiful.’”

For organizers, events like this commemoration are meant to inspire more moments just like Wright’s experience, connecting history to the future leaders in aviation.