Last night I attended a screening of DOUBLE VICTORY at the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture

The Lucas documentary Double Victory showcases the Airmen’s triumphs amid the adversities of Jim Crow and segregation in the U.S. military. Narrated by Gooding, Double Victory goes inside the lives of many of the living Airmen, recounting stories of racism within the military alongside the Airmen’s tenacious heroism.

Lucas’ Red Tails, which stars Gooding and Howard, takes the stories of the Airmen from textbooks to the feature screen. After the project was rejected by all seven major Hollywood studios, Lucas decided to pump his own money into producing and promoting the movie. Continuing the high-energy, big-action legacy of Lucasfilm, Red Tails goes beyond being a mere history lesson, enlisting CGI and other special effects to create an energetic movie-going experience to illustrate the journey of the Tuskegee Airmen.

After more than 20 years in development and production, Red Tails is scheduled for release on Jan. 20.Double Victory, which was recently screened in Washington during the 2011 Congressional Black Caucus Annual Legislative Conference in September, is scheduled to be released soon.