Post by Blaque on Mar 14, 2007 8:35:13 GMT -5
About Bessie Coleman:
Adventurous, fearless, and dedicated to raising the status of African Americans through aviation, Bessie Coleman became an inspiration to the black community. Despite the odds against her of becoming a pilot, she became the first African American aviator in an era that excluded blacks and women from aviation.
Coleman was born in Atlanta, Texas on January 26, 1892. Her family moved to Waxahachie, Texas where they sharecropped cotton. Her father, who was part Choctaw, deserted the family and moved to a reservation in Oklahoma. To make ends meet, Coleman and her 12 siblings were put to work picking cotton.
Although manual labor was a large part of Coleman’s life, she was enthralled with books. Her mother recognized her interest and made sure that she nurtured it. Coleman temporarily attended elementary school at the Colored Agricultural and Normal University in Langston, Oklahoma. She had to withdraw after she could no longer afford it.
In 1917, Coleman moved to Chicago where she stayed with her brothers. She attended Burnham’s School of Beauty Culture. After her training was complete, she became a manicurist in a men’s barbershop. It was there that she was privy to discussions by World War I veterans about aviation. She learned that in France, unlike in the United States, women flew planes.
Coleman decided that she wanted to become a pilot and eventually open a flying school for African Americans. To raise money, she quit her job and opened a chili parlor. Her income from the parlor, along with the money she received from investors Robert Abbot and Jesse Binga, was enough for her to pay for training in France. In 1920, she enrolled in the French Condrau School of Aviation in Le Crotoy.
In June 1921, she earned her international pilot’s license. She was the first African American woman and the first American woman to receive her license from the Federation Aeronautique Internationale. Coleman continued her training in Paris where she worked with an advanced pilot.
In September 1921, Coleman returned to the United States. When she arrived in New York, reporters from African American newspapers and the cast of Shuffle Along were there to greet her. While her arrival was significant to the black community, she was unable to find employment as a pilot.
Coleman returned to Europe. She continued her training in Germany, Holland, and Switzerland. She studied with Captain Keller and stunt performer Anthony Fokker. She obtained experience with various planes such as a 220 horsepower Benz plane and a Dornier seaplane. With the advancement of her skills, she decided to barnstorm, become a stunt pilot.
When she returned to the United States in 1922, her job prospects were much greater. She had become a notable pilot and her advanced skills were recognized. Her first exhibition was on September 3, 1922 at the Curtis Airfield in Garden City, Long Island. She amazed the audience with stunts and a parachute leap by the co-pilot. As her popularity increased, she traveled throughout the United States performing stunts. In the South, she refused to perform if the audience was segregated. Her demands were often met.
Coleman earned enough money to buy an old Curtiss JN-4 for $400. While flying to a show in 1924, her plane stalled and she crashed. She suffered broken ribs, fractures to her left leg, and facial lacerations.
Despite the crash, she continued to perform. In 1926, her practice flight for a show in Jacksonville, Florida was her last. For the show, Coleman was only able to afford an army surplus plane. The day before the show, while she was practicing with her co-pilot, the plane spun out of control and Coleman whose seat belt was unfastened, was ejected from the plane. She fell over five hundred feet to her death. The accident was caused by a wrench that had slid into the gearbox.
Each year on the anniversary of Coleman’s death, pilots from the Bessie Coleman Aviators Club, Chicago American Pilots Association, and the Negro Airmen International fly over her grave in Chicago and drop flowers in honor of her life. In Chicago, Old Mannheim Road at the O’Hare Airport was renamed Bessie Coleman Drive and May 2 is Bessie Coleman Day. In 1995, the U.S. Postal Service issued a stamp in her honor.
Adventurous, fearless, and dedicated to raising the status of African Americans through aviation, Bessie Coleman became an inspiration to the black community. Despite the odds against her of becoming a pilot, she became the first African American aviator in an era that excluded blacks and women from aviation.
Coleman was born in Atlanta, Texas on January 26, 1892. Her family moved to Waxahachie, Texas where they sharecropped cotton. Her father, who was part Choctaw, deserted the family and moved to a reservation in Oklahoma. To make ends meet, Coleman and her 12 siblings were put to work picking cotton.
Although manual labor was a large part of Coleman’s life, she was enthralled with books. Her mother recognized her interest and made sure that she nurtured it. Coleman temporarily attended elementary school at the Colored Agricultural and Normal University in Langston, Oklahoma. She had to withdraw after she could no longer afford it.
In 1917, Coleman moved to Chicago where she stayed with her brothers. She attended Burnham’s School of Beauty Culture. After her training was complete, she became a manicurist in a men’s barbershop. It was there that she was privy to discussions by World War I veterans about aviation. She learned that in France, unlike in the United States, women flew planes.
Coleman decided that she wanted to become a pilot and eventually open a flying school for African Americans. To raise money, she quit her job and opened a chili parlor. Her income from the parlor, along with the money she received from investors Robert Abbot and Jesse Binga, was enough for her to pay for training in France. In 1920, she enrolled in the French Condrau School of Aviation in Le Crotoy.
In June 1921, she earned her international pilot’s license. She was the first African American woman and the first American woman to receive her license from the Federation Aeronautique Internationale. Coleman continued her training in Paris where she worked with an advanced pilot.
In September 1921, Coleman returned to the United States. When she arrived in New York, reporters from African American newspapers and the cast of Shuffle Along were there to greet her. While her arrival was significant to the black community, she was unable to find employment as a pilot.
Coleman returned to Europe. She continued her training in Germany, Holland, and Switzerland. She studied with Captain Keller and stunt performer Anthony Fokker. She obtained experience with various planes such as a 220 horsepower Benz plane and a Dornier seaplane. With the advancement of her skills, she decided to barnstorm, become a stunt pilot.
When she returned to the United States in 1922, her job prospects were much greater. She had become a notable pilot and her advanced skills were recognized. Her first exhibition was on September 3, 1922 at the Curtis Airfield in Garden City, Long Island. She amazed the audience with stunts and a parachute leap by the co-pilot. As her popularity increased, she traveled throughout the United States performing stunts. In the South, she refused to perform if the audience was segregated. Her demands were often met.
Coleman earned enough money to buy an old Curtiss JN-4 for $400. While flying to a show in 1924, her plane stalled and she crashed. She suffered broken ribs, fractures to her left leg, and facial lacerations.
Despite the crash, she continued to perform. In 1926, her practice flight for a show in Jacksonville, Florida was her last. For the show, Coleman was only able to afford an army surplus plane. The day before the show, while she was practicing with her co-pilot, the plane spun out of control and Coleman whose seat belt was unfastened, was ejected from the plane. She fell over five hundred feet to her death. The accident was caused by a wrench that had slid into the gearbox.
Each year on the anniversary of Coleman’s death, pilots from the Bessie Coleman Aviators Club, Chicago American Pilots Association, and the Negro Airmen International fly over her grave in Chicago and drop flowers in honor of her life. In Chicago, Old Mannheim Road at the O’Hare Airport was renamed Bessie Coleman Drive and May 2 is Bessie Coleman Day. In 1995, the U.S. Postal Service issued a stamp in her honor.