User:Jayre20/Leroy Battle

LeRoy Battle “A True Renaissance Man” LeRoy Battle is one of the last remaining renaissance men living in our society. Mr. Battle was selected as one of the few African American pilots to join the Tuskegee Airmen. He also was an educator for Douglass High School in Upper Marlboro Maryland; also Mr. Battle is an accomplished jazz musician with his own band playing throughout Maryland. He also felt the racism of the military first hand. Mr. Battle and one hundred other Negro pilots were arrested while trying to enter the Officer’s Club. Earlier in the day several white captains told the African American pilots they were not allowed into the club because it was a white only club. Battle recounts “We went to the theater, then a bunch of us went over to the club,” “We brushed by [the MPs], went in and sat down. Col. Selway … put us under barrack arrest. They had a barbed-wire fence around our area. We could look out and see the Italian POWs walking around, going to the PX. We would meet in the lavatory.” This event is herald as one of the major events that changed segregation policies in the military. While as an educator at Douglass High School, LeRoy Battle tried to fight segregation in the Washington Redskins Organization. He wanted the band and Redskinettes to be desegregated. Mr. Battle pushed two of his band members to try out for the Washington Redskins band, with Sterling Tucker the executive director of the D.C. Urban supporting the movement for desegregation, the members of Battle’s band tried out for the team. Both men complained about the application process, they claimed the Redskins organization wasn’t sending out applications to African Americans. Joel Margolis the Redskins business manager said “That not many colored apply, Last year we had fifty one tryouts and only one was colored.” Mr. Battle said that advertising towards colored applicants were being ignored by the Redskins. While fighting with the Redskins Mr. Battle continue to create music with his own jazz Band. Leroy Battle and the Altones became a very famous band in Maryland. They were given a regularly scheduled gig on the Tony Kornheiser show. Mr. Kornheiser is a very famous sports talk and television host in the Maryland and D.C. areas. Leroy Battle said “"On a whim I sent my tape in, a couple of days later they called me." Mr. Kornheiser loved the music created by LeRoy Battle and the Altones. Leroy Battle is now 85 years old and his band still travels around Maryland playing small clubs and special events. He talks about how much he loves creating music and will be playing clubs and writing music until he passes away.

5. BERNARD GARNETT. “DIXIE' IS OUT FOR REDSKINS BAND.” Baltimore Afro-American. October 23, 1965.http://proquest.umi.com/pqdweb?index=4&did=1276964572&SrchMode=1&sid=1&Fmt=10&VInst=PROD&VType=PQD&RQT=309&VName=HNP&TS=1259094864&clientId=41152.[ accessed November 22, 2009]. 12. Dodd, Darcey. “Cool Altones Jazz Backs Hot Kornheiser on ESPN Radio.” Dock of The Bay, New Bay Times, Feburary 11-17, 1999. http://www.bayweekly.com/year99/issue7_6/dock7_6.html. [ accessed November 22, 2009]. 6.Migdal, Rebecca. “Flying High.” The Brooklyn Paper. February 10, 2007. http://www.brooklynpaper.com/stories/30/6/30_06tuskegee.html. [ accessed November 22, 2009].