“The air is the only place free from prejudices. I knew we had no aviators, neither men nor women, and I knew the Race needed to be represented along this most important line, so I thought it my duty to risk my life to learn aviation.” – Bessie Coleman
In the United States in the 1920s, aviation was a new field and opportunity. World War I had shown the utility of air flight at least in a wartime scenario. But flying after the war was a source of curiosity and entertainment and many men sought to learn how to fly. However, women and Black people were restricted from acquiring a license to fly.
This did not deter Bessie Coleman.
Bessie Coleman has become a symbol of perseverance, determination, and courage for women and Black women, especially, in her dogged pursuit of learning to fly. However, she had to go to France to get the opportunity because of racism in the United States. More about that later.
Bessie Coleman was an unlikely candidate to become America’s first Black female pilot. Born to a poor sharecropping family in Texas in 1892, she had to walk four miles a day (one-way) to attend the black-segregated school in Waxahachie. Bessie showed promise academically in her school and was later accepted to a Missionary Baptist Church School, and when 18 she attended the segregated Langston University in Oklahoma. But she could only afford a year of tuition and dropped out.
Her father had abandoned the family in 1901, and in 1915 she and her mother moved to Chicago where some of her older siblings were living. Working in a barber shop, she listened intently to stories of Black veterans who had flown planes during the war. That is when she decided she wanted to become a pilot and learn how to fly.
She had two problems. One was that she didn’t have enough money for flight school, and second, no flight schools in the US accepted Black females into their programs. Sounds like the end of the story for Bessie, but Bessie proved to be very enterprising and found a way to overcome both obstacles.
She came into contact with Robert S. Abbott, the founder and publisher of the largest Black newspaper in the United States, the Chicago Defender. Abbott, who was also a lawyer, encouraged Bessie to seek her pilot training overseas. Abbott published her predicament in his paper and soon finances began to flow. She received support from Jesse Binga, a successful Black businessman who had founded the first successful Black bank in Chicago. Soon she had enough money to go to France for flight training.
It is important to note that even in the 1920s during the height of Jim Crow segregation, redlining in Northern Cities, and discrimination everywhere, the Black community came together and had the resources to support the dream of a young woman such as Bessie Coleman.
Next, the determined Bessie went to a language school in Chicago and learned to speak French. In November of 1920, Bessie went to France and entered flight school, becoming the first Black-Native American woman to do so. (Bessie’s father was part native American, his mother being a Native American living in Oklahoma.)
She learned to fly in a Nieuport 564 biplane with "a steering system that consisted of a vertical stick the thickness of a baseball bat in front of the pilot and a rudder bar under the pilot's feet." By June 1921, she had earned her international license. She spent the next two months under the mentorship of an “ace” French pilot and returned to the US in September 1921. She was an immediate media sensation.
In the 1920s there were no commercial airlines in existence, and the only real “job” for a pilot was doing trick flying stunts commonly called “barnstorming.” But this type of aviation required even more training and because of her gender and race, no one would work with her in the US. So, back to Europe she went in 1922.
Coleman spent time in France, the Netherlands, and Germany learning advanced flying techniques from some of the best pilots around. She learned how to fly newer aircraft and became proficient in a very short time.
When she returned to the United States, she was greeted again with fanfare, and became known as “Queen Bess.” She made her first appearance in an American airshow on September 3, 1922, at an event honoring veterans of the all-black 369th Infantry Regiment of World War I. Held at Curtiss Field on Long Island near New York City, and sponsored by her friend Abbott and the Chicago Defender newspaper, the show billed Coleman as "the world's greatest woman flier."
Six weeks later, Coleman returned to Chicago, performing in an air show, this time to honor World War I's 370th Infantry Regiment. She delivered a stunning demonstration of daredevil maneuvers – including figure eights, loops, and near-ground dips to a large and enthusiastic crowd.
Coleman had gained a reputation as a skilled and daring pilot who would stop at nothing to complete a difficult stunt. In Los Angeles, she broke a leg and three ribs when her plane stalled and crash-landed on February 22, 1923.
But her fame and skill were not an end in themselves. Coleman was committed to combatting racism in a country that denied her the right to become a pilot. She spoke to audiences across the country about the pursuit of aviation and goals for African Americans and refused to participate in aviation events that prohibited the attendance of African Americans.
Bessie Coleman, who also was known as “Brave Bess” by her admirers, had wanted to start an aviation school for African Americans. She had moved to Orlando, Florida in the 1920s and started a beauty salon to help raise money to buy a plane and start a school.
Unfortunately, Coleman would not live long enough to see her dream come true. On April 30, 1926, she was flying in a plane that she had purchased, getting ready for an airshow the next day. Her mechanic, William Wills, was piloting, and the plane had mechanical problems. The plane went into an unexpected dive and a spin at 3000 feet throwing Coleman from the plane. She died at impact as did the Wills who stayed in the plane but didn’t survive the crash. Bessie Coleman was only 34 years of age.
But her legacy lived on. Tens of thousands gathered for her funeral in Chicago where she was laid to rest. William Powell, who was a fellow African American pilot, continued her legacy and started the Bessie Coleman Flying Club in 1929 to encourage Black youth to enter the field of aviation. Williams said of Coleman: "Because of Bessie Coleman, we have overcome that which was worse than racial barriers. We have overcome the barriers within ourselves and dared to dream." Black Wings (1934)
Today, there are streets named after Bessie Coleman, elementary schools, libraries, and even a “Bessie Coleman Barbie Doll.” Her life is now getting the attention it deserves. For Black History Month, it is fitting to remember and honor the life of Bessie (the Brave) Coleman.
To learn more watch this Video of Bessie Coleman’s Life - An American Hero!
Thank you.