‘The Tuskegee Airmen’ screening brings Cuba Gooding Jr. back to Muskogee

MUSKOGEE, Okla. — Oscar-winning actor Cuba Gooding Jr. visited Muskogee for a special film screening and to pay tribute to some of the city’s heroes.

Gooding Jr. was at a special screening of the movie, “The Tuskegee Airmen.” He was in the movie back in 1995, which was partly filmed in Muskogee.

Gooding Jr. said one thing that drew him to the event was the passion of the people of Muskogee.

“You can really feel the passion of the people in Muskogee and I think that’s another thing that drew me back here to be a part of this,” he said.

The movie is about a group of African American military fighter pilots who fought in World War 2. Gooding Jr. said he wanted to visit to honor the airmen.

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“Hopefully we can shine a light on these warriors that did amazing things,” he said.

While in Muskogee, Gooding Jr. also visited Booker T. Washington cemetery, where three Tuskegee Airmen are buried.

“The freedoms that we all enjoy are these men and women who are dying for our country and it’s one of those things that I said to myself when I finally get active again I’m going to revisit some of the places and today that was an emotional moment we had at that cemetery today and to know that, there’s all these black veterans that are lying underground there and not being celebrated or even visited, and now we have the opportunity to celebrate them and acknowledge them,” he said.

The movie was shown to a packed audience at the Roxy Theater. The audience included people who were extras in the film, like Oscar Ray.

“I was a stand in for Laurence Fishburne,” he said.

Eddie Holmes was also present. He wanted to pay tribute to the Tuskegee Airmen.

“My grandfather, Ike Woods, he was a Tuskegee airman and I’m coming down here to support him,” he said.

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Mayor Marlon Coleman said the airmen had a big impact on Muskogee.

“It’s important that as we go into Martin Luther King Jr. Day, as we go into Black History Month in February, that the world is reminded that Muskogee has such a rich heritage, a rich culture that has been directly and indirectly impacted by the African American community, Cuba Gooding Jr. has contributed to that, I think I’m standing as the first black mayor because of Cuba Jr.’s presence in the 90′s that said that the African American contribution to our city has been so great that it’s carrying on to this day right now,” he said.

Gooding Jr. said he hopes people are inspired by what the men did.

“We repeat mistakes in history when we forget about the mistakes we made, so never forget never, never forget what the Tuskegee Airmen did, never forget about the Buffalo Soldiers, never forget about our men and women who this country is founded on,” he said.

Gooding Jr. also said he wanted to revisit Muskogee to shine a light on what these men did.

Mayor Coleman said Gooding Jr. has inspired the community and highlighted that Muskogee has been a filming destination since the 90′s. He also said it shows that top class movies are made right here in Oklahoma

“We are one of the hidden jewels in all of America and so it’s just exciting that Cuba Jr. is here, it does wonders for our community and wonders for our town, it has inspired over the last 24 hours a ray of hope that we haven’t seen in a long long time,” he said.

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