The mere existence of the Tuskegee Airmen broke a barrier that had existed in American society since the country's inception--the supposed inferiority of those with Black skin. By demonstrating the equal, and in this case exemplary, capabilities of African Americans, through their performance in the skies, the Tuskegee Airmen countered that age old rhetoric. This feat reverberated throughout greater American society, breaking barriers within the military and helping to erase the color line that split the nation.