Author Kelly V. Porter to honor her father’s legacy as a pioneering meteorologist during Tuskegee Airmen Commemoration Day  (full text with pictures)

Long before satellite imaging revolutionized weather forecasting, Alonzo Smith Jr. was making critical, real-time predictions for military pilots. One of the first African American meteorologists in the U.S. Air Force during the 1950s, Smith’s weather forecasting calculations shaped missions and saved lives.

Now, Smith’s daughter, author Kelly V. Porter, is ensuring his story — and the broader story of Black pioneers — gets the recognition it deserves. Porter’s book, “The Weather Officer,” chronicles 40 years of her father’s life, beginning with his impoverished  youth in 1930s Harlem and Washington, D.C., through his ascension as a Navy enlisted sailor, then Air Force weather officer, ending with him earning the position of civilian deputy coordinator for meteorology at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). 

Smith retired from NOAA in 1986. He passed away in 1999 at age 74.

Smith credits the Tuskegee Airmen for inspiring him to achieve his goals, Porter notes in her book. At one point, during the summer of 1948 when he was in Howard University’s Air Force Reserve Officer Training Corps, Smith meets and is given a plane ride by Tuskegee Airman pilot Capt. Howard Lee Baugh.

Porter will continue telling her father’s story as the featured speaker at the East Coast Chapter Tuskegee Airmen, Inc.’s (ECCTAI) Tuskegee Airmen Commemoration Day (TACD) and Wreath-laying Ceremony on March 27 at the U.S. Air Force Memorial in Arlington, Virginia. Typically held on the fourth Thursday of each March, TACD ensures the bravery, sacrifice and enduring impact of deceased members of the nearly 19,000 primarily Black men and women who comprised the “Tuskegee Airmen Experience” are never forgotten.

As she prepares for the commemoration ceremony, Porter discussed how her father navigated racism, the use of technology to strengthen storytelling and the importance of legacy.

Q: Your father was a pioneer in meteorology and the military. What were some of the biggest obstacles he faced as an African American in these fields, and how did he navigate them?

A: His biggest challenge, of course, was navigating the country’s overt racism. Although the military had been desegregated and was beginning to evolve, Black service members still faced obstacles in many of the communities where they were stationed. When traveling, my dad had to avoid “sundown towns” and often he was turned away from motels or landlords wouldn’t allow him to lease a rental property. Military officials didn’t offer much help in that area. He just had to figure it out.

I think, too, being a scientist, he faced a lot of professional skepticism. I know it sounds cliché, but he really did have to be twice as good, if not even better than that. For just about his entire career, he was always the only Black weather officer in his detachment, interacting with colleagues who’d never before had Black peers.

Dad was extremely charming, intelligent, and he was a hard worker, so he won people over, but when I look through his military personnel records, there was always one commanding officer who gave him low performance ratings. I have to believe that was because they didn’t want to see him succeed.

Q: In writing about your father’s life, what moments stood out to you — either in terms of his challenges or triumphs?

A: Before I began writing the book, I had no idea what a weather officer was! The Dad I knew was a retired lieutenant colonel, who got up every day and drove to his nine-to-five job at the National Oceanic Atmospheric Administration, where he worked as a meteorologist. His life in the Air Force was somewhat a mystery to me because I was only 3 years old at the time of his retirement.

As part of my research, I requested my father’s military personnel records, and that’s when I realized how much he’d accomplished. I knew he was a mathematician, but he also developed an extremely high level of scientific and technical expertise. He had an acute understanding of both weather prediction and aeronautics. And in 1961, he led the design and build-out of a weather center at Warren Air Force Base in Cheyenne, Wyoming. It was the first such facility on the base that provided weather support to the missile launch crews. So, he also understood the dynamics of missile operations.

Q: The legacy of the Tuskegee Airmen continues to inspire. What message do you want to leave with attendees at this year’s Tuskegee Airmen Commemoration Day, and how can we ensure these stories remain a vital part of American history?

A: This current climate in our country is actually providing us with opportunities to elevate our voices. I’ve seen so many journalists who are turning away from traditional media and starting their own streaming platforms online. I’ve discovered a few really popular, young Black history influencers on TikTok and Substack. The Tuskegee Airmen community can do the same by tapping into the tech-savvy talent of the younger generation, who can create content and engage with their peers. I think technology and social media can be a great way to keep the story of the Tuskegee Airmen alive.

Q: Your father was a past president of the East Coast Chapter Tuskegee Airmen, Inc., and your uncle, George, was also involved in the chapter. Why do you think it was important to them to honor the legacy of the Tuskegee Airmen by investing in the chapter’s mission of inspiring future aviators and aerospace professionals?

A: For whatever reason, my father lived — and my Uncle George continues to live with a strong sense of genealogical consciousness, the idea that collective and personal identities are shaped by behaviors of the past. Therefore, if stories of excellence and achievement are passed along to future generations, those young people will be inspired to live out their hopes and dreams. And this also includes the present.

How are we showing up right now? My dad was intentional about being a role model. He tutored middle- and high school students in math and science. He thought about what kind of legacy he wanted to leave behind, and I know Uncle George is thinking about that, too.

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