BESSIE COLEMAN
Aviator
1893-1926
Bessie Coleman was born on January 26, 1893 in Atlanta, Texas. Who would
have guessed that in less than twenty years after the Wright brothers made
their first successful flight, a Black woman would become a pilot. That
woman was bessiecoleman. In pursuing a flying career, she had three goals:
earn a pilot's license; become a recognized stunt and exhibition flier; and
establish an aviation school for Blacks. Rejected by every American aviation
school she applied to, she was encouraged by Robert S. Abbott (founder of the
Chicago Defender ) to study abroad. It was through both German and French
pilots that Coleman returned to the U.S. in 1921 as this country's first
Black female licensed pilot. A year later she earned her international
pilot's license. Barnstorming across the country, she thrilled thousands as
"Brave Bessie". On this day in 1926, while making a practice run with her
mechanic as the pilot, Bessie Coleman was thrown out of the plane when the
controls jammed. A Pioneer in the field of aviation, her story became the
inspiration for other Blacks to take to the skies.
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Bessie Coleman
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