Birthday – 26 Jan. 1892
Who is Bessie Coleman?
Bessie Coleman was the first-ever African-American who became a pilot. She earned her international pilot license at the age of 29 and was the first Native American to do so.
She was a high-profile pilot in the United States. More than this, she made a huge difference not just in the field of Aeronautics but the world, in general. She had dreamed of making use of this skill by starting a school for African-Americans who wish to become pilots, too. Unfortunately, she died at the age of 34 in a plane crash. She was a great source of inspiration to women, especially in a male-dominated field.
Five Facts about Bessie Coleman
- Bessie was the tenth child of thirteen children of George and Susan Coleman. Fortunately, she was one of the nine children who lived through childhood.
- At 23, she went to the Burnham School of Beauty Culture in Chicago and became a manicurist. She tried to get into as many flight schools as she can but all her applications were declined because she was an African American woman.
- Robert Abbott, a famous African American Newspaper publisher of the Chicago Defender told her that if she wanted to learn to fly, then she has to move to France. In France, she had to take French classes at night, so she could write her application to flight schools in French. Abbott also wrote about Coleman’s pursuit in the newspaper. Due to this, Coleman was able to secure a scholarship from the newspaper along with banker, Jesse Binga.
- At 21, she surpassed all barriers by achieving many of the firsts in the field of Aeronautics: the first Native American pilot, first black person (and not just woman) to have earned a pilot license, and the first-ever Native American to earn an international pilot’s license from the Federation Aeronautique Internationale.
- Her achievements did not stop at securing an aviation license. Later known as “Queen Bess, the world’s greatest woman flier”, she became a barnstorming stunt flier with her daredevil performances featuring various exhibitions.
“Inspirational Quotes from Bessie Coleman”
“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.”
“You’ve never lived until you’ve flown.”
“If I can create the minimum of my plans and desires, there shall be no regrets.”
“I decided blacks should not have to experience the difficulties I had faced, so I decided to open a flying school and teach other black women to fly.”
“I refused to take no for an answer.”
Bessie Coleman Biography
Early Life
Bessie Coleman was one of the thirteen children of George and Susan Coleman. Bessie’s father was a sharecropper, while her mother was a maid. She started going to school at the age of six, where she would walk four miles every day to reach Waxahachie where her school was. She loved reading and was great in Math. At 18, Bessie (who was also sometimes called Elizabeth) used her savings to enrol at the Oklahoma Colored Agricultural and Normal University in Langston, Oklahoma (this is called Langston University now).
She was only able to finish one term due to limited funds. At 23, Bessie went to Chicago, Illinois where she stayed with her brothers. She went to a beauty school and got a job as a manicurist in a local barbershop. At this time, she would take delight in hearing men share stories about flying during the war and pilots returning home.
She took jobs to be able to try to enrol herself in a pilot school later on. However, at that time, American flight schools do not accept women, especially women of color. Fortunately, Bessie met the founder/publisher of the Chicago Defender, who advised her to study abroad in pursuit of her dreams of becoming a pilot. This is how Bessie’s journey to becoming a renowned woman pilot began.
Husband and children
When Bessie moved to Chicago, she met and married Claude Glenn who was 14 years older than her. Very little was written about this because she never publicly recognized this fact. It was said that their relationship was ill-fated resulting in them separating right after. They did not have children.
Legacy and Mission
Thankfully due to the support she received, she got accepted at the Cauldron Brother’s School of Aviation in France. She dreamed of owning a plane hence, she gave speeches, talked about air tricks and practices, and everything she knows about flying, to save money. She became very popular for the deadly stunts she would perform. Gaining people’s fascination, she was able to tour the county to talk and teach people about flying, especially the women. She was famous for being good at what she does, but also for being someone who stands up to her beliefs.
She had a major aeroplane accident in 1923 and she luckily survived this. This incident did not dampen her spirits and if anything motivated her even more. Unfortunately, she met another accident while testing her plane in 1926. She did not survive this one. Bessie, who was not wearing a seatbelt at the time, fell some 2,000 feet into the ground and died immediately.
The ending of her life story was quite tragic. She had a short five-year career as the first African American pilot. However, her achievements and legacy were immortalized through all the honours and recognitions that “Queen Bess” received from that time on to date. One of the latest honours given to her was in December 2019 by the New York Times feature in “Overlooked No More: Bessie Coleman, Pioneering African-American Aviatrix. She was indicted in The National Aviation Hall of Fame as a legend and a beacon of inspiration, true to everything that Queen Bessie stood for.
