KUNC | By Michael de Yoanna
A congressman and community supporters are rallying behind the idea of naming a Veterans Affairs health clinic after John Mosley, a Denver native who became one of the military’s first Black pilots as a Tuskegee Airman during World War II.
“There was a way in through the military because of resources, because of reach, because of access,” his grandson, John-Claude Futrell, said. “There was a world of opportunity there and he did his best to take advantage and make sure that other people also had access as well.”
Rep. Jason Crow recently introduced legislation to name a VA community-based outpatient clinic that is set to open next summer in Aurora the Lt. Col. John W. Mosley Clinic.
“Frankly, I was just blown away by so many aspects of his story, how compelling it was,” Crow said. “Three separate wars over a period of decades and then coming back to Colorado, continuing to lead in civil rights and community leadership.”
John Mosley was born in Denver’s Five Points neighborhood in 1921 and passed away at the age of 93. The Colorado he grew up in was marked by racial discrimination — from swimming pools to restaurants.