In today’s moment in Women's History, we will highlight Bessie Coleman, born January 26, 1892, in Atlanta, Texas, and taken from us far too soon on April 30, 1926, in Jacksonville, Florida.
This sharecropper’s daughter, of African and Native American heritage, dreamed of flying when most folks said a Black woman had no business in the cockpit. U.S. flight schools turned her away because of her race and gender, so she taught herself French, scraped together every dime from her Chicago manicurist job, and sailed to France. In just seven months at the Caudron Brothers School, she earned her international pilot’s license from the Fédération Aéronautique Internationale on June 15, 1921…becoming the first African American woman and first Native American woman to do so.
Back home, “Queen Bess” barnstormed across the country, looping, diving, and thrilling crowds in death-defying stunts while quietly opening doors for every pilot who looked like her. A loose wrench ended her life during a rehearsal flight at age 34, but her unshakeable grit never crashed.
Remember…Education is freedom of mind and never should be colorblind.
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