The new movie Red Tails tells a story many of us are familiar with, but few of us really know. The Tuskegee Airmen were America's first African-American squadron of pilots, flying in World War II amidst the country's fervent racial segregation. While the courageous group's placement in history has been secured, the monumental undertaking the young men flying in the bomber protection group—from the uphill battle they fought internally from the actual battles they encountered overseas—are relatively unchronicled.

Red Tails pays respect to those soldiers while delivering a riveting depiction of the dog fights they took on in the skies. For the film, Producer George Lucas and director Anthony Hemingway gathered some of the finest young actors working in the biz, including David Oyelowo, Nate Parker, Elijah Kelly, Tristan Wilds, and Ne-Yo, and veterans like Terrence Howard and Cuba Gooding Jr., to help them bring the story of the Red Tails to life. I had a chance to sit down with the energetic gents, along with a real life Tuskegee Airmen, Dr. Roscoe Brown, in anticipation of the film:

Terrence Howard and David Oyelowo

Elijah Kelly, Tristan Wilds, and Ne-Yo

Cuba Gooding Jr. and Nate Parker

Dr. Roscoe Brown