Our conversation this week is with Curtis Rayborn, a living history lesson on Tuskegee, Alabama. He's a former student and employee at the Tuskegee Institute, retired Alabama Army National Guard member, volunteer at the Tuskegee Airmen National Historic Site, and marvelous storyteller.
"I was dying of curiosity." This is what Curtis remarked about his encounters with one woman who he eventually learned was an important part of the Tuskegee Airmen Experience. He had so many questions. He needed to know more. But he understands that all the knowledge he's gained since moving Tuskegee in 1967 is worth nothing if he doesn't share it. That's how he's lived for over 50 years, learning about the place that shaped him and spreading the word to anyone who will listen.
I met Curtis during my April 2021 visit to Tuskegee at the Rayborn Manor Bed and Breakfast, owned and operated by his wife Leoncia (also an amazing person). His immense love of Tuskegee and its history lit me up so much that I, too, had to know more. So I returned to listen to Curtis share his everyday experiences with the Tuskegee Airmen, the history of the Tuskegee Institute and its impact on him and the world, and so many more cool stories about "little Ol' Tuskegee".
Stay at the Rayborn Manor Bed and Breakfast
Visit the Tuskegee Airmen National Historic Site
Mentioned in this episode:
The Third Life of Grange Copeland by Alice Walker
Robert Russa Moton of Hampton and Tuskegee by William Hardin Hughes and Frederick D. Patterson
Knowing Mandela by John Carlin
Moton Field/Tuskegee Airmen Special Resource Study by the National Park Service
A Century of Agriculture in the 1890 Land-Grant Institutions and Tuskegee University by B.D. Mayberry
The Fifth Chinese Daughter by Jade Snow Wong
Wings for This Man (Documentary Short Film)
