Forgotten Souls: The Search for the Lost Tuskegee Airmen

Author Talk with Cheryl Thompson

Join us for a discussion of Cheryl W. Thompson's book, Forgotten Souls: The Search for the Lost Tuskegee Airmen and a Presentation by the East Coast Chapter of Tuskegee Airmen, Inc.

Join us at the Chevy Chase Neighborhood Library for a special presentation by the East Coast Chapter of the Tuskegee Airmen, Inc. Learn about the history, achievements, and enduring legacy of the pioneering African American military aviators who served with distinction during WWII. 

NPR investigative journalist, author, and daughter of a Tuskegee Airman, Cheryl W. Thompson will also join us. She returns to DCPL to discuss her book Forgotten Souls: The Search for the Lost Tuskegee Airmen. In it she explores the stories of 27 Tuskegee Airmen who went missing and all but 2 of their remains were found. Ms. Thompson will discuss the impact of their loss on their families and communities.

About Forgotten Souls:

Forgotten Souls by Cheryl W. Thompson honors the 1,000 Black Tuskegee Airmen who battled severe military racism while proving their courage during WWII. The book investigates the disappearance of 27 pilots during final European missions and the subsequent failure of the government to provide closure to their families over the past 80 years.

Books for sale provided by local bookstore, Solid State Books

About the Author

Cheryl W. Thompson is an award-winning investigative correspondent for National Public Radio, an associate professor of journalism at George Washington University, and author of Forgotten Souls: The Search for the Lost Tuskegee Airmen. She is the recipient of more than 40 journalism awards, including an Emmy, 5 National Headliners, and 3 from IRE - Investigative Reporters and Editors. Thompson served as reporting coach for the Pulitzer Prize-winning NPR podcast No Compromise. During more than 20 years as a reporter for The Washington Post, she was part of teams that won two Pulitzer Prizes for national reporting. She served as a Pulitzer Prize juror for the Investigative Reporting category in 2022 and chaired the jury in 2023. Thompson is a member of the National Association of Black Journalists, Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc., and Investigative Reporters and Editors, where she was elected the first Black president in 2018 and served an unprecedented three terms. She is also a founding and current board member of the Center for Collaborative Investigative Journalism and a member of the advisory board for the Fund for Investigative Journalism. She is currently a member of the National Press Foundation Board and the Spotlight DC Board, and a two-time graduate of the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. The daughter of a Tuskegee Airman, Thompson is a Chicago native who lives outside Washington, DC, and can be found online at CherylWThompson.com.

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