Lieutenant Colonel Lawrence Millben (USAF Retired), who is 78 years old and has dedicated much of his adult life as a volunteer at Davis Aerospace Technical High School was unceremoniously removed from the campus on October 28, 2014, complete with a police escort. The campus of the Davis Aerospace Technical High School is currently located at the Golightly Career and Technical Center, 900 Dickerson, Detroit, MI.
The men were accused of conducting an “unauthorized” parent advisory committee meeting. Millben had been chairing these regularly scheduled meetings for many years and had taken all the appropriate steps to schedule the meeting.
Lt. Col. Millben has an illustrious history in aviation and has volunteered his time at the technical school for over a decade. Millben holds the distinction of having been the first African-American graduate of the high school (known as Aero Mechanics High School at that time). He is a former Tuskegee Airman who served a total of 42 years in the US Air Force. From 1990 to 1996, he was assigned as the first African-American Base Commander at Selfridge Air National Guard Base.
Original Tuskegee Airman (OTA) Lt. Col. Alexander Jefferson (retired), a 94 year old WWII veteran who volunteered at the school was also removed from the campus. Jefferson? was inducted into the Michigan Aviation Hall of Fame. He played a huge role in getting the school renamed in honor of General Benjamin O. Davis. He was also responsible for instituting the Pilot Training Program at Davis, which is a premier program known across the country.
A third former military airman that was removed from the building was Major General William Henderson (USMC Retired). Henderson was the first black Director of Aviation for General Motors and is also in the Michigan Aviation Hall of Fame.
Upon being escorted out, Millben stated, ?I am 78 years old and this is the first time I have been kicked out of school.”
All of these men have contributed greatly to the history of African-Americans in aviation. They should be valued as National Treasures, not tossed to the curb like yesterday’s left-over meatloaf.
From their website, ?Davis Aerospace Technical High School is a uniquely specialized Detroit Public School that services high school students in grades 9-12.?
Like all Detroit Public Schools, the aerospace technical high school has suffered under the appointed emergency managers assigned to the district by Michigan Governor Rick Snyder.
?The Detroit Board of Education established the Aero Mechanics High School in September of 1943. Its special purpose was to meet the needs of secondary students who were interested in the field of aircraft mechanics. Aero Mechanics High School, the only secondary school in Michigan to receive approval by the Department of Commerce and the Federal Aviation Administration, granted high school diplomas as well as awarded FAA certificates.
Davis Aerospace Technical High School is one of a few similar schools across the United States that continues the tradition of training aviation maintenance technicians. Davis graduates go into the field of aviation and/or continue their education at the collegiate level. Davis graduates symbolize the ambition and excellence of the Davis mission to guide its students into optimum careers particularly careers in the aerospace industry.?
The biggest problem with the information contained on the school website is that much of it is no longer correct. The school used to be located at the Detroit Airport, but was moved to the Golightly Career and Technical Center, which limits the ability to provide the same level of hands-on training previously available. The airplanes were sold. The flight simulator was sold. Students now have difficulty obtaining their FAA Pilot’s License due to lack of flight hours.
In an attempt to consolidate and close as many schools as possible in DPS, the governor-appointed emergency managers seem to be attacking schools that are highly specialized and among the highest rated in the nation, rather than those that are performing poorly.
Another highly acclaimed specialized school, the Katherine Ferguson Academy, which provided a top-notch education to girls who were pregnant and unable to complete schooling at their local high schools, was closed in 2013. The Ferguson Academy was the only one of its kind in the country and boasted a 100% graduation and college acceptance rate, but was closed by the governor-appointed emergency manager. The Katherine Ferguson Academy was turned over to a charter management company that ran the school into the ground during their first and only year of management and the school closed officially last year.
Several times during his campaign and since winning his second term as governor of Michigan, Rick Snyder has stated that Michigan needs to concentrate on making vocational and technical education a priority. With that in mind, citizens are forced to ask:
?Why does he seem so intent on destroying the most prestigious vocational institutes in the state??
UPDATE – It has been brought to the writer’s attention that the administrator, Principal Nina Graves-Hicks,?who had the Tuskegee Airmen removed from the?aeronautical school has accepted a new position as a Deputy Superintendent with Ecorse schools.?There is no evidence that the two items are related, but there has been speculation along these lines.
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