An F-22 pilot on why he felt discriminated against in the Air Force

cbs news correspondent david martin on race  in the ranks every single african-american   we've interviewed said they had to moderate  their behavior so they weren't intimidated   had a very candid conversation with one of  the individuals who passed me this information   he broke it down you're big you're black with a  deep voice you're intimidating and if you want   to move on you have to do something about it  this week on 60 minutes we reported on racial   bias in the military from the rank and file  to officers african americans in the air force   say they are treated differently than their white  counterparts major daniel walker is an f-22 pilot on an air force program called real talk hosted  by lieutenant general brad webb he read comments   made by other black pilots i have a couple of  quotes i want to read off my fighter experience   was the most demoralizing experience in my  life and i've been homeless the second is   to be yourself and thrive in a fighter  squadron as a black man is an oxymoron   either conform or fail these are  my friends these are my brothers   and my sisters actually walker sat down with us  to share his story this story is not uncommon   i could very easily attribute this interaction  to that action on my part but when you compare   stories from people you've never met and they're  almost identical down to the individual and down   to the comment you start to realize these  are not singular events in one person's life   walker grew up in dallas his family told  stories of his great uncle norman scales   a tuskegee airman who earned a distinguished  flying cross for combat missions during world war   ii at six years old to have your dad's uncle be a  tuskegee airman and see the movies and hear about   uncle scales he's got street named after him and  austin your family can't help but talk about them   and when i was born and they saw things in me  i felt at a very early age those hopes start to   transition to my shoulders he flew fighters and  he changed the trajectory of my family's history   so that's what i'm going to do determined to  follow in those footsteps walker went to the   air force academy and from there to pilot training  had you been told what to expect at flight school   unfortunately yes we've had alumni come back black  pilots who'd gone through pilot training the story   was you're going to go they're going to treat you  poorly when you wash out when you wash out they're   probably not going to keep you in the air force so  if you go don't go trying to fly fighters but in   the grand scheme of things probably don't go how  did that play in your decision about whether to go   well in my mind i have to prove it can be done and  then prove it can be repeatable walker excelled at   flight school and earned a coveted assignment to  fly the air force's top of the line f-22 stealth   fighter so you go to f-22 school yes sir what  was that like it was a blast it was the most fun   i'd ever had in my entire life seeing things and  doing things with so much power underneath you and   behind you and around you that it's surreal did  you feel your race going through the f-22 training   not initially i got feedback at the end of this  course however that it was very evident that i was   having a good time and maybe i shouldn't have been  or i talked too much i started to realize that   maybe there was something more to this things like  if you don't assimilate we will weed you out or i   have to ask myself is this a me thing or is this  something else and that takes a lot of energy   to carry that that question mark around with you  after his training walker joined an f-22 squadron   in langley virginia did you feel like you belonged  i did initially i did initially you start to hear   feedback like he's too quiet it seems  like he thinks he's too good to be here or   too good for this place they try to be a different  form of quiet or the way he walks is intimidating   after 11 years as an air force officer  walker decided it was time to move on   i had to really start taking seriously  my happiness my well-being ask myself   am i willing to continue fighting  uphill and chance going back to a   squadron where i have to manage myself this  way and sacrifice these things personally   will i get anywhere walker's departure leaves the  air force with fewer than 50 black fighter pilots   lieutenant general brad webb it's a loss for  the air force he was an incredible pilot an   incredible officer outstanding officer for us  but he served our nation well walker has been   accepted at harvard law school that flag still  means a ton to me i have something unique to add   to my country in a different plane my decision  to go to law school which is what i have planned   next for myself centers around that how can i take  everything i've experienced here to include these   interviews in this moment in time and channel  it this energy toward affecting change if i'm   going to do anything with the rest of my life  i think it's going to be that it has to be that

Channel: 60 Minutes

Views: 523,094

Keywords: 60 Minutes, CBS News, united states military, racism, 60 minutes

Id: b7wEYTa2ACU

Length: 5min 35sec (335 seconds)

Published: Sun Mar 21 2021