‘The Real Red Tails’: ‘Abbott Elementary’ Star Sheryl Lee Ralph on Giving a Voice to Nat Geo Doc

Abbott Elementary star Sheryl Lee Ralph is taking her teaching gig seriously by lending her recognizable vocals to National Geographic‘s new hour-long special The Real Red Tails.

Known for playing the beloved teacher Barbara Howard in ABC‘s Emmy-winning comedy, Ralph shines a light on a fascinating story about the discovery of a World War II-era P-39 airplane in Lake Huron, Michigan. The memory of Tuskegee pilot Frank Moody was revived as he perished in the crash connected to the plane in question.

But beyond digging deeper into the mysteries that caused the crash, this documentary serves to remind viewers about the significance of what Moody and his fellow airmen accomplished by breaking racial barriers of the time. Ralph narrates the informative special, which also features first-hand accounts from some of the Tuskegee Airmen as the documentary delves into their history and the mission to solve the 80-year mystery revolving around Moody’s death.

National Archives and Records Administration

Below, Ralph opens up about getting involved and shares what viewers will learn along the way. Plus, she weighs in on whether Barbara would show the special to her students at Abbott.

What made you want to get involved in telling this story and lending your narration to The Real Red Tails?

Sheryl Lee Ralph: The producers were very familiar with my voice, which is interesting because I had absolutely no idea what kind of impact a voice could have. And they told me they were listening and they said, this is the voice we need to help tell this story. And so they called up my representation. They worked out all the details and one thing led to the other. But what is also fascinating is that as a child, I was told this story by my parents, especially my father, who as an educator was an avid lifelong learner. And he was sure that the more information you had in life, the more interesting of a person, the more giving of a human you could be in life. So when this was offered to me, it was a natural [yes], when there are people who are trying to rewrite, eliminate, or cross out important facts of American history.

What fascinated you about Frank Moody’s story which despite being tragic also reminds viewers of Black triumph in the miliary?

Some stories will not be untold. [It was 70 years] to the day, April 11th, 1944 when Frank Moody went down, [that the plane] was unearthed [in 2014]. This will not stay buried. We’re going to tell this truth. And I think no matter how people try to snuff it out, the truth will prevail by some force. As a lover of history, I think it is important for us to continue to tell the truth. The fact that it took a television series for people to learn about Tulsa, to learn this story, I think about these things and I say, it is so wrong not to tell the whole truth. No matter how good, pretty, ugly, or painful it may be.

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How do you want people to feel after watching?

I want people to know that these soldiers, these Black soldiers are a part of American history. It’s not just those people’s history. It is our history. It is this country’s total history. And we cannot continue to erase, eliminate, hide, or not talk about or discriminate against the stories that we tell solely based upon the color of people’s skin. No matter what, these men sacrificed and have made a great contribution to the overall history of our country.

Will Barbara Howard push to have her students watch The Real Red Tails on Abbott Elementary?

I think it might be something for the older children. I think the younger children would love hearing about aviators, pilots, and all of that. But I think it might be a story that I could share with Janine for maybe somebody else’s class. Who knows, maybe Mr. Jacob’s class. He loves Black history.

The Real Red Tails, Premieres Monday, June 3, Nat Geo (Next day on Disney+ & Hulu)