Bessie Coleman

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Bessie Coleman
Coleman in 1923
Born(1892-01-26)January 26, 1892
Atlanta, Texas, U.S.
DiedApril 30, 1926(1926-04-30) (aged 34)
Jacksonville, Florida, U.S.
Cause of deathPlane crash
Burial placeLincoln Cemetery, Cook County, Illinois
Known forFirst African-American and Native American female aviator
Spouse<templatestyles src="Template:Marriage/styles.css"/>
Claude Glenn
​
​
(m. 1917, separated soon after[1])​

Elizabeth Coleman (January 26, 1892Template:Spaced ndashApril 30, 1926)[2] was an early American civil aviator. She was the first African-American woman and first Native American to hold a pilot license,[3][4][5][6][7][8][9] and is the earliest known Black person to earn an international pilot's license.[10] She earned her license from the Fédération Aéronautique Internationale on June 15, 1921.[5][6][11]

Born to a family of sharecroppers in Texas, Coleman worked in the cotton fields at a young age while also studying in a small segregated school. She attended one term of college at Langston University. Coleman developed an early interest in flying, but African Americans, Native Americans, and women had no flight training opportunities in the United States, so she saved and obtained sponsorships in Chicago to go to France for flight school.

She then became a high-profile pilot in notoriously dangerous air shows in the United States. She was popularly known as "Queen Bess" and "Brave Bessie",[12] and hoped to start a school for African-American fliers. Coleman died in a plane crash in 1926. Her pioneering role was an inspiration to early pilots and to the African-American and Native American communities.

Early life

Coleman[13] was born on January 26, 1892, in Atlanta, Texas,[10] the tenth of 13 children of George Coleman, an African American who may have had Cherokee or Choctaw grandparents, and Susan Coleman, who was African American.[14][15] Nine of the children survived childhood, which was typical for the time.[14] When Coleman was two years old, her family moved to Waxahachie, Texas, where they lived as sharecroppers.[15] Coleman began attending school in Waxahachie at the age of six. She walked four miles each day to her segregated, one-room school, where she loved to read and established herself as an outstanding math student.[15] She completed her elementary education in that school.[15]

Every season, Coleman's routine of school, chores, and church was interrupted for her to participate in bringing in the cotton harvest. In 1901, George Coleman left his family. He moved to Oklahoma, or Indian Territory, as it was then called, to find better opportunities, but his wife and children did not follow. At the age of 12, Coleman was accepted into the Missionary Baptist Church School on scholarship. When she turned eighteen, she took her savings and enrolled in the Oklahoma Colored Agricultural and Normal University in Langston, Oklahoma (now called Langston University). She completed one term before her money ran out and she returned home.[16]

Career

Chicago

In 1915, at the age of 23, Coleman moved to Chicago, Illinois, where she lived with her brothers. In Chicago, she worked as a manicurist at the White Sox Barber Shop, where she heard stories of flying during wartime from pilots returning home from World War I. She took a second job as a restaurant manager of a chili parlor to save money in hopes of becoming a pilot herself.[17] American flight schools of the time admitted neither women nor black people, so Robert S. Abbott, founder and publisher of the Chicago Defender newspaper, encouraged her to study abroad.[4] Abbot publicized Coleman's quest in his newspaper and she received financial sponsorship from banker Jesse Binga and the Defender.[17]

France

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Bessie Coleman's aviation license issued on June 15, 1921
Bessie Coleman's photograph used in her aviation license issued on June 15, 1921
Coleman's aviation license issued on June 15, 1921

Bessie Coleman took a French-language class at the Berlitz Language Schools in Chicago and then traveled to Paris, France, on November 20, 1920, so that she could earn her pilot license. She learned to fly in a Nieuport 564 biplane with "a steering system that consisted of a vertical stick the thickness of a baseball bat in front of the pilot and a rudder bar under the pilot's feet."[18]

On June 15, 1921, Coleman became the first black woman[10] and first Native American[19] to earn an aviation pilot's license and the first black person[10] and first self-identified Native American[19] to earn an international aviation license from the Fédération Aéronautique Internationale.[10] She is also the first American of any race or gender to be awarded these credentials directly from the FAI, as opposed to applying through the National Aeronautic Association.[20] Determined to polish her skills, Coleman spent the next two months taking lessons from a French ace pilot near Paris and, in September 1921, she sailed for America. She became a media sensation when she returned to the United States.

Airshows

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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...

– Bessie Coleman[21]

With the age of commercial flight still a decade or more in the future, Coleman quickly realized that in order to make a living as a civilian aviator she would have to become a "barnstorming" stunt flier, performing dangerous tricks in the air with the then-still-novel technology of airplanes for paying audiences. But, to succeed in this highly competitive arena, she would need advanced lessons and a more extensive repertoire. Returning to Chicago, she could not find anyone willing to teach her, so in February 1922, she sailed again for Europe.[18]

Coleman spent the next two months in France completing an advanced course in aviation. She then left for the Netherlands to meet with Anthony Fokker, one of the world's most distinguished aircraft designers. She also traveled to Germany, where she visited the Fokker Corporation and received additional training from one of the company's chief pilots. She then returned to the United States to launch her career in exhibition flying.[18]

"Queen Bess", as she was known, was a highly popular draw for the next five years. Invited to important events and often interviewed by newspapers, she was admired by both blacks and whites. She primarily flew Curtiss JN-4 Jenny biplanes and other aircraft that had been army surplus aircraft left over from the war. She made her first appearance in an American airshow on September 3, 1922, at an event honoring veterans of the all-black 369th Infantry Regiment of World War I. Held at Curtiss Field on Long Island near New York City, and sponsored by her friend Abbott and the Chicago Defender newspaper, the show billed Coleman as "the world's greatest woman flier"[22] and featured aerial displays by eight other American ace pilots, and a jump by black parachutist Hubert Julian.[23]

Six weeks later, Coleman returned to Chicago, performing in an air show, this time to honor World War I's 370th Infantry Regiment. She delivered a stunning demonstration of daredevil maneuvers – including figure eights, loops, and near-ground dips to a large and enthusiastic crowd at the Checkerboard Airdrome – now the grounds of Hines Veterans Administration Medical Center, Hines, Illinois, Loyola Hospital, Maywood, and nearby Cook County Forest Preserve.[24]

The thrill of stunt flying and the admiration of cheering crowds were only part of Coleman's dream. Coleman never lost sight of her childhood vow to one day "amount to something". As a professional aviator, Coleman often would be criticized by the press for her opportunistic nature and the flamboyant style she brought to her exhibition flying. She also quickly gained a reputation as a skilled and daring pilot who would stop at nothing to complete a difficult stunt.

In 1922, Bessie acquired a Curtiss JN-4D with an OX-5 engine from a Los Angeles Army depot. She’d arranged an airshow at the new Los Angeles County Fairgrounds (now Fairplex), but, on February 4, 1923, shortly after takeoff from Santa Monica the motor stalled, and the plane smashed into the ground. She survived and, despite a broken leg and fractured ribs, pleaded with the doctors to “patch her up” enough to perform at the airshow. Instead, she was grounded for several months.[25][20]

Bessie Coleman, c. 1922

Committed to promoting aviation and combating racism, Coleman spoke to audiences across the country about the pursuit of aviation and goals for African Americans. She absolutely refused to participate in aviation events that prohibited the attendance of African Americans.[26]

In the 1920s, she met the Rev. Hezakiah Hill and his wife Viola on a speaking tour in Orlando, Florida. The community activists invited her to stay with them at the parsonage of Mount Zion Missionary Baptist Church on Washington Street in the neighborhood of Parramore. A local street was renamed "Bessie Coleman" Street in her honor in 2013. The couple, who treated her as a daughter, persuaded her to stay, and Coleman opened a beauty shop in Orlando to earn extra money to buy her own plane.[27]

Through her media contacts, she was offered a role in a feature-length film titled Shadow and Sunshine, to be financed by the African American Seminole Film Producing Company. She gladly accepted, hoping the publicity would help to advance her career and provide her with some of the money she needed to establish her own flying school. But upon learning that the first scene in the movie required her to appear in tattered clothes, with a walking-stick and a pack on her back, she refused to proceed. "Clearly ... [Bessie's] walking off the movie set was a statement of principle. Opportunist though she was about her career, she was never an opportunist about race. She had no intention of perpetuating the derogatory image most whites had of most blacks," wrote Doris Rich.[18]

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It's tempting to draw parallels between me and Ms. Coleman . . .[but] I point to Bessie Coleman and say here is a woman, a being, who exemplifies and serves as a model for all humanity, the very definition of strength, dignity, courage, integrity, and beauty.

– Mae Jemison (first African-American
woman astronaut)[28]

Legacy

Coleman would not live long enough to establish a school for young black aviators, but her pioneering achievements served as an inspiration for a generation of African-American men and women. "Because of Bessie Coleman," wrote Lieutenant William J. Powell in Black Wings (1934), dedicated to Coleman, "we have overcome that which was worse than racial barriers. We have overcome the barriers within ourselves and dared to dream."[29] Powell served in a segregated unit during World War I, and tirelessly promoted the cause of black aviation through his book, his journals, and the Bessie Coleman Aero Club, which he founded in 1929.[30][18]

Coleman's example proved an inspiration for a number of pioneers in aeronautics and eventually astronautics, including John Robinson, Cornelius Coffey, Willa Brown, Janet Harmon Bragg, Robert H. Lawrence Jr., and Mae Jemison.[31]

Death

Coleman's grave at Lincoln Cemetery, near Chicago

On April 30, 1926, Coleman was in Jacksonville, Florida. She had recently purchased a Curtiss JN-4 (Jenny) in Dallas. Her mechanic and publicity agent, 24-year-old William D. Wills, flew the plane from Dallas in preparation for an airshow and had to make three forced landings along the way because the plane had been so poorly maintained.[32] Upon learning this, Coleman's friends and family did not consider the aircraft safe and implored her not to fly it, but she refused. On take-off, Wills was flying the plane with Coleman in the other seat. She was planning a parachute jump for the next day and was unharnessed as she needed to look over the side to examine the terrain.[13]

About ten minutes into the flight, the plane unexpectedly went into a dive and then a spin at 3,000 feet above the ground. Coleman was thrown from the plane at 2,000 ft (610 m), and was killed instantly when she hit the ground. Wills was unable to regain control of the plane, and it plummeted to the ground. He died upon impact. The plane exploded, bursting into flames. Although the wreckage of the plane was badly burned, it was later discovered that a wrench used to service the engine had jammed the controls. Coleman was 34 years old.[18]

Funeral services were held in Florida, before her body was sent back to Chicago. While there was little mention in most media, news of her death was widely carried in the African-American press. Ten thousand mourners attended her ceremonies in Chicago, which were led by activist Ida B. Wells.[13]

Honors

In 2023, Coleman was honored in the American Women quarters series. 6.15.1921 (June 15, 1921) is the date she was awarded her international pilots license.
Large poster on a scaffolding at "Bessie-Coleman-Straße" (aka "Bessie-Coleman-street") in the district Gateway Gardens at Frankfurt Airport

See also

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References

Citations


Works cited

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Further reading

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External links

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Wikimedia Commons has media related to Bessie Coleman.

 Bessie Coleman.
  Lynne Spivey.
 
  Atlanta Historical Museum.
  Retrieved  from link


 Bessie Coleman.
 
  (2002)
  Texas Historical Commission.
  Retrieved  from Historical Marker Database (HMdb)


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Template:National Women's Hall of Fame

  1. ↑ Bessie Coleman – Aviator.  (November 1, 2014)  Rootsweb.  Retrieved December 17, 2017 from link
  2. ↑ Lua error: bad argument #1 to "get" (not a valid title).
  3. ↑ O'Hare display honors 1st African American, Native American to earn international pilot's license.  (July 30, 2021)  Retrieved February 2, 2024 from abc7chicago.com
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 Bessie Coleman (1892–1926).  Retrieved March 3, 2010 from PBS.org
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 Some Notable Women In Aviation History.  Retrieved April 10, 2008 from Women in Aviation International
  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 Women in History: Bessie Coleman.  David H. Onkst.  Retrieved January 5, 2016 from Natural Resources Conservation Service Nevada
  7. ↑ Fighter pilot takes inspiration to new heights.  (March 28, 2018)  Retrieved July 14, 2019 from U.S. Air Force
  8. ↑ Indigenous Connections and Collections Library Blog – Bessie Coleman Aerospace Legacy.  (November 7, 2022)  Retrieved February 2, 2024 from Indian Pueblo Cultural Center
  9. ↑ Bessie Coleman (1892–1926).  Kerri Lee Alexander.  Retrieved February 25, 2024 from National Women's History Museum
  10. ↑ 10.0 10.1 10.2 10.3 10.4 Lua error: bad argument #1 to "get" (not a valid title).
  11. ↑ Pioneer Hall of Fame.  Retrieved April 10, 2008 from Women in Aviation International
  12. ↑ Bessie Coleman.  Retrieved September 12, 2019 from National Women's History Museum
  13. ↑ 13.0 13.1 13.2 13.3 Lua error: bad argument #1 to "get" (not a valid title).
  14. ↑ 14.0 14.1 Lua error: bad argument #1 to "get" (not a valid title).
  15. ↑ 15.0 15.1 15.2 15.3 Lua error: bad argument #1 to "get" (not a valid title).
  16. ↑ Coleman, Bessie.  (February 25, 2020)  Texas State History Association.  Retrieved May 19, 2013 from The Handbook of Texas Online
  17. ↑ 17.0 17.1 Creasman 1997, p. 159.
  18. ↑ 18.0 18.1 18.2 18.3 18.4 18.5 Lua error: bad argument #1 to "get" (not a valid title).
  19. ↑ 19.0 19.1 Bessie Coleman.  (2018)  Retrieved November 14, 2019 from National Women's History Museum
  20. ↑ 20.0 20.1 Bessie Coleman.  Retrieved 3 January 2025 from National Women's History Museum
  21. ↑ Bessie Coleman.  Retrieved January 26, 2017 from Black History pages (BHP)
  22. ↑ Lua error: bad argument #1 to "get" (not a valid title).
  23. ↑ Lua error: bad argument #1 to "get" (not a valid title).
  24. ↑ Lua error: bad argument #1 to "get" (not a valid title).
  25. ↑ Part 11—Bessie Coleman.  Retrieved 6 January 2025 from Chicagology
  26. ↑ Creasman 1997, p. 162.
  27. ↑ 27.0 27.1 Lua error: bad argument #1 to "get" (not a valid title).
  28. ↑ Creasman 1997, p. 163.
  29. ↑ Lua error: bad argument #1 to "get" (not a valid title).
  30. ↑ Lua error: bad argument #1 to "get" (not a valid title).
  31. ↑ Lua error: bad argument #1 to "get" (not a valid title).
  32. ↑ Bessie Coleman Facts.  Retrieved November 15, 2013 from link
  33. ↑ About Coleman Branch.  Retrieved February 28, 2017 from link
  34. ↑ Markers of Distinction: Bessie Coleman.  City of Chicago, Chicago Cultural Center.  Retrieved March 27, 2015 from Chicago Tribute
  35. ↑ Bessie Coleman Drive, Chicago.  Retrieved October 13, 2017 from OpenStreetMap
  36. ↑ Bessie Coleman Drive, Alameda.  Retrieved October 13, 2017 from OpenStreetMap
  37. ↑ Bessie Coleman Boulevard, Tampa.  Retrieved October 13, 2017 from OpenStreetMap
  38. ↑ Bessie-Coleman-Straße, Frankfurt.  Retrieved October 13, 2017 from OpenStreetMap
  39. ↑ Rue Bessie Coleman, Poitiers.  Retrieved October 13, 2017 from OpenStreetMap
  40. ↑ Rue Bessie Coleman, Paris.  Retrieved October 13, 2017 from OpenStreetMap
  41. ↑ Bessie Coleman Boulevard, Waxahachie.  Retrieved October 13, 2017 from OpenStreetMap
  42. ↑ About.  Retrieved May 21, 2014 from B. Coleman Aviation
  43. ↑ Stamp Series.  Retrieved September 9, 2013 from United States Postal Service
  44. ↑ Bessie Coleman.  Retrieved October 13, 2017 from US Stamp Gallery.com
  45. ↑ "Bessie Coleman", National Women's Hall of Fame.
  46. ↑ Coleman, Bessie.  Retrieved October 13, 2017 from National Aviation Hall of Fame
  47. ↑ Lua error: bad argument #1 to "get" (not a valid title).
  48. ↑ Lua error: bad argument #1 to "get" (not a valid title).
  49. ↑ Sprekelmeyer, Linda, editor. These We Honor: The International Aerospace Hall of Fame. Donning Co. Publishers, 2006. <templatestyles src="Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css"></templatestyles>ISBN 978-1-57864-397-4.
  50. ↑ Lua error: bad argument #1 to "get" (not a valid title).
  51. ↑ Who was Bessie Coleman and why does she still matter?.  (January 26, 2017)  AlJazeera.  Retrieved from link
  52. ↑ Lua error: bad argument #1 to "get" (not a valid title).
  53. ↑ Great Exploration Revisited: New Horizons at Pluto and Charon.   JHUAPL.  Retrieved 2021-10-26 from New Horizons
  54. ↑ Pluto Landmarks Named for Aviation Pioneers Ride and Coleman.  Tricia Talbert.  (2021-10-25)  Retrieved 2021-10-26 from NASA
  55. ↑ Empowering Women in the Skies.  (August 19, 2022)  Retrieved from American Airlines News
  56. ↑ Bessie Coleman, first African American woman to earn a pilot's license, honored by All-Black, female airline crew.  Kris Van Cleave.  (August 17, 2022)  Retrieved from CBS News
  57. ↑ United States Mint Announces 2023 American Women Quarters™ Program Honorees.  (March 30, 2022)  U.S. Mint.  Retrieved 2022-03-31 from link
  58. ↑ What's in a School Rename: Life, Legacy of Bessie Coleman.  (2022-04-16)  Retrieved 2022-09-07 from The Corvallis Advocate
  59. ↑ Bessie Coleman, pioneering pilot, now has her own Barbie.  (January 24, 2023)  Retrieved February 2, 2023 from MSN
  60. ↑ World Premiere of THE FLIGHT Comes to Factory Theatre.  Stephi Wild.  (January 24, 2023)  Retrieved 2023-02-15 from BroadwayWorld.com
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