December 16, 2022
I just read to my 8-year old twin daughters about an exceptional person I never heard of before: Bessie Coleman, the first African-American woman pilot, and the first Native American pilot.
![](https://www.patrickchovanec.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/12/EvSENJ4WYAIdJ48.jpeg)
Bessie was born in 1892 to a family of sharecroppers in Texas. Her family was part Cherokee. She walked four miles every day to a segregated one-room schoolhouse, where she established herself as a gifted student, especially in math.
![](https://www.patrickchovanec.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/12/EvSEtyEXcAERzgO.jpeg)
At the age of 23, Bessie moved to Chicago where she worked as a manicurist. Hearing stories of returning aviator from WWI, she wanted to learn how to fly, but no pilot school would accept her.
![](https://www.patrickchovanec.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/12/EvSFfLKXcAg85se.jpeg)
So Bessie took a French course at Berlitz, and traveled to Paris where attended flying school and earned a pilot license – the first Black woman ever to do so.
![](https://www.patrickchovanec.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/12/EvSF22uXAAgFVrQ.jpeg)
Before the birth of the airlines, the only way to make a living as a pilot after the war was “barnstorming” – thrilling and dangerous aerobatic exhibitions. To get more advanced training, Bessie traveled to the Netherlands and Germany to meet aircraft designer Anthony Fokker.
![](https://www.patrickchovanec.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/12/EvSHLyTXcAEzN6C-1.jpeg)
When she returned to the US, she became a famous stunt pilot, performing as “Queen Bess” or “Brave Bessie”. She had one condition: she would only perform at shows that were open to African-American spectators.
![](https://www.patrickchovanec.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/12/EvSIKUXWYAIkADJ.png)
Coleman spoke widely about equal opportunities for African-Americans, including in aviation, and she hoped to establish a flight school for African-Americans in the US.
![](https://www.patrickchovanec.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/12/EvSI5UZXEAIyCM4.jpeg)
Tragically, like so many early aviators, her dream was cut short by a dangerous profession. In 1926, a plane she was flying went unexpectedly into a dive, throwing her out of the cockpit. She fell from the sky and was killed instantly on impact. She was 34 years old.
![](https://www.patrickchovanec.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/12/EvSJTkxXcAUqeEX.jpeg)
In 1992, astronaut Dr. Mae Jemison, flying in the Space Shuttle Endeavor, became the first African American woman in space. She carried a photo of Bessie Coleman with her on the mission.
![](https://www.patrickchovanec.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/12/EvSJ4g0XMAEaZS4.jpeg)
“If I can create the minimum of my plans and desires, there shall be no regrets.” – Bessie Coleman
![](https://www.patrickchovanec.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/12/EvSKfASXcAMcf9g.jpeg)
This little girl is amazing. I bet Bessie would be very proud.
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