MS SC573

Recognizes Mississippi author Thomas E. Simmons and his book "The Man Called Brown Condor: The Forgotten History of an African American Fighter Pilot" about Colonel John Charles Robinson of Gulfport, Mississippi.

Documents Robinson's life from his 1903 birth in Florida through his childhood in segregated Mississippi, his aviation training at Curtiss-Wright Aviation School in Chicago, and his establishment of a flying school for young black men.

Details Robinson's service as head of Ethiopia's Air Force under Emperor Haile Selassie during the Italian invasion in the 1930s, where he led unarmed pilots in reconnaissance and message-delivery missions.

Notes Robinson's influence on the development of the Tuskegee Airmen program and his post-World War II work rebuilding Ethiopia's Air Force and creating Ethiopian Airlines before his death at age 51.

Directs presentation of the resolution to Thomas Simmons, the Mississippi Arts Commission, and the Capitol Press Corps.