The small airplane roared to life. Bessie Coleman sat at the control panel. She took to the skies as the first African American female pilot. Crowds cheered Coleman on.
This pilot was born in Texas in 1892. Her name was Elizabeth Coleman. But everyone called her Bessie. Coleman grew up poor. She helped her mother pick cotton to earn money.
After high school, Coleman went to college. However, she could afford only one semester. In 1915, Coleman became a . Coleman’s brother teased her about her job. He said women in France had more rights. They could even fly planes. He said Black American women would never fly.
“That’s it!” Coleman told her brother. “You just called it for me.”
Coleman made it her mission to become a pilot. However, American would not teach her. So, she studied French. She saved money. Coleman traveled to France in 1920. There, she enrolled in a flight school. She was the only person of color in her class. Coleman got her pilot’s license in 1921.
“Brave Bessie” returned to the United States. She amazed Americans with her stunts. In 1922, she became the first African American woman to stage a public flight. Coleman earned a living with her flight shows. This form of entertainment performed by stunt pilots is called “barnstorming.”
Coleman’s stunts included making figure-8 shapes with her plane. She walked on her craft’s wings while in midair. She even shocked crowds by parachuting from the plane! A co-pilot would take control.
Coleman inspired other Black people to fly. She gave flight lessons and speeches. Coleman also refused to perform for crowds. At one event, Coleman learned that there would be separate entrances for Black and white people. She said she would not perform. The event leaders agreed to make one gate.
Coleman died in a plane accident in 1926. She was 34. However, she still inspires people today.
Updated February 8, 2022, 5:01 P.M. (ET)
By Alexa Tirapelli
