A piece of Charleston history is now permanently marked on the Eastern Illinois University campus… and it couldn’t have come on a better day!
The Coles County Historical Society unveiled a historic marker Tuesday afternoon honoring Major Charles B. Hall, a Tuskegee Airman and former Eastern Illinois University alum, at a dedication ceremony held at 4 p.m. at Fourth Street and Garfield Avenue. The timing wasn’t a coincidence… as Tuesday (today) also happened to be Hall’s birthday, and the City of Charleston marked the occasion by declaring the day “Major Charles Blakesly Hall Day.”
Hall’s son, Teddy Hall, was on hand for the unveiling to see his father’s legacy honored in the community where it began. The marker itself came together in part through the work of Gunner Barr, a Charleston High School senior who helped research and develop the project as part of her internship with the historical society.
Hall’s story starts right there on Eastern Illinois’ campus, where he became the university’s first Black student athlete. He went on to serve with the famed Tuskegee Airmen during World War II, becoming the first African American pilot to shoot down an enemy aircraft in combat, a milestone that cemented his place in both military and civil rights history. Decades later, that history now has a permanent home marking where his journey began, serving as time for students and residents to pause and remember what Hall accomplished.
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