By Grace Steves, age 13
When Bessie Coleman became the first Native American and African American woman to earn a pilot’s license in 1921, she broke both gender and race barriers in aviation. Prior to her, only wealthy white women and men were pilots. And Bessie was not only a pilot, but an aerobatic pilot, flying her plane in rolls, loops, spins, and more. Bessie’s athleticism and artistry earned her respect from both Black and white people and the nickname “Queen Bess.” Like Ella Fitzgerald, Hiram Revels, and Jackie Robinson, Bessie Colemen broke stereotypes for Black Americans and women and continues to inspire people today.
Bessie Colemen was born in Texas on Jan. 26, 1892, to an African American mother and a Black and Choctaw father. She grew up in a time with high rates of violence against African Americans, racist restrictions on voting, and segregation, and as a girl, she attended a segregated school that lacked funding and materials. In 1915, Bessie moved to Chicago in search of better conditions, and during her time there she fell in love with flying. She heard stories about pilots in World War I and decided that was what she wanted to do.
However, because of the oppression she faced based on parts of her identity, Bessie was not confident she could become a pilot in America. According to PBS, Bessie “was also spurred on by her brother, who taunted her with claims that French women were superior to African American women because they could fly.” To pursue her dream, Bessie learned French at the Berlitz School in Chicago and moved to Paris, France, to learn to fly. In 1921, she was awarded her pilot’s license from the Fédération Aéronautique Internationale.
Bessie’s extraordinary accomplishment earned her nationwide recognition, including an invitation to the all-Black musical Shuffle Along as a guest of honor. At the end of the performance, Bessie received a standing ovation from the multi-race crowd of hundreds.
Her career was filled with dozens of breathtaking air shows and stunts that wowed crowds. Bessie used her fame to encourage other Black people to go into aviation, and notably refused to perform at shows that barred African Americans from attending or forced people to use entrances separated by race. Bessie tragically passed away in a flight accident in 1926.
Bessie continues to be celebrated to this day and was honored in 2023 with a special quarter dollar by the American Women’s Quarters Program. The coin features a picture of Bessie and the date she received her pilot’s license, and was sculpted by United States Mint Artistic Infusion Program designer Chris Costello, who modeled the drawing on his wife and young daughter, also of African and Native American heritage. On the coin, Bessie is shown “readying her goggles as she takes to the skies. In the background, her Curtiss Jenny biplane is seen soaring through the clouds,” Costello said in a press release by the U.S. Mint.
Bessie Coleman continues to be an inspiration. “Coleman’s legacy of flight endures and she is credited with inspiring generations of African American aviators, male and female,” wrote Julia Lauria-Blum for the Cradle of Aviation Museum. This included the Tuskegee Airmen as well as Dr. Mae Jemison, a NASA astronaut and the first African American woman to go to space, according to Lauria-Blum. And when Jemison left Earth aboard the Space Shuttle Endeavour in 1992, she carried Bessie Coleman’s picture with her into orbit. It’s important to learn about stories like Bessie’s to highlight those who thrived when faced with adversity and to remind us that we can also soar high.
