01/30/2021
Bessie Coleman, the first African-American woman in the world to earn a pilot's license, was born on this day in 1892. Coleman decided that she wanted to learn to fly after hearing stories from pilots returning home after World War I but no American flight schools would accept her due to her gender and race. To pursue her dream, Coleman studied French in Chicago and traveled to France in 1920 to enroll in flight school. There, she earned her international pilot license from the Fédération Aéronautique Internationale. After returning to the US, she specialized in stunt flying and quickly became a media sensation and a popular draw at airshows, earning the nickname “Queen Bess.”
Though Coleman was tragically killed in a plane crash in Florida due to mechanical failure at the age of 34, her legacy lived on. Following her death in 1926, Bessie Coleman Aero Clubs for African-American aviators appeared across the US. In the book “Black Wings,” Lieutenant William Powell described how Coleman served as an inspiration to many African-American aviators: “Because of Bessie Coleman, we have overcome that which was worse than racial barriers. We have overcome the barriers within ourselves and dared to dream." Notably, when Mae Jemison became the first woman of color in space in 1992, one of the few personal objects she brought with her on the spaceflight was a photo of her hero, Bessie Coleman.
For books to introduce young readers to this aviation pioneer, we recommend "Nobody Owns the Sky: The Story of "Brave Bessie" Coleman" for ages 5 to 8 (https://www.amightygirl.com/nobody-owns-the-sky),"Talkin' About Bessie" for ages 6 to 9 (https://www.amightygirl.com/talkin-about-bessie), and "Fly High! The Story Of Bessie Coleman" for ages 7 to 10 (https://www.amightygirl.com/fly-high)
She is also one of the 26 female aviators profiled in the fascinating book for ages 12 and up, "Women Aviators: 26 Stories of Pioneer Flights, Daring Missions, and Record-Setting Journeys," at https://www.amightygirl.com/women-aviators
Bessie Coleman is also featured as a finger puppet & magnet at https://www.amightygirl.com/bessie-coleman-finger-puppet-magnet
For more books about trailblazing African-American women throughout history, visit our "African-American History & Historical Fiction" collection at http://bit.ly/2rHGejR
And, for more book about girls and women confronting prejudice in many forms - be it due to gender, race/ethnicity, class, sexual orientation, or religion - visit our "Prejudice & Discrimination" book section at http://bit.ly/2DGhBd9
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