Bessie
An African-American Legend
Born in January 1892, Bessie Coleman kept her aspirations high.
An excellent student at her all-black one-room school she knew she was destined for greater things.
She left Texas to live in Chicago with her two siblings.
While working as a manicurist at a barber shop , Bessie heard tales of flying from veterans of World War One.
She began to fantasize about being a pilot inspite of being teased.
Bessie knew flying was in her future even though many did not believe.
She knew that if she believed the opportunity would come.
Opportunity came in the shape of Robert S. Abbott, founder and publisher of the Chicago Defender, who encouraged her to that her flying interest abroad.
In 1920, after raising enough money, she went to France to take her interest forward.
The following year, Bessie became the first African-American woman licensed to fly.
She returned to the U.S. before she realized----
She realized that in order to live out her life's dream.
She would have to gain advanced training in France and Germany to be polished and very clean.
Again Bessie trained before returning to the U.S. to begin her career in exhibition flying with dreams of having her own flying school.
Bessie's daredevil air talents commanded the crowd everywhere she flew.
However death came calling Bessie on April 30, 1926, when she died in Florida while planning an aerial trick.
Days after thousands mourned the death of a woman whose life ended too quick.
Bessie's legacy continues through the numbers of African-Americans who pursued their interest to fly.
All because of an African-American woman who achieved one of her dreams because she wasn't afraid to try.
Published by Teresa Graham
- Myra Adele Logan: First African American Woman to Operate on a Human HeartMyra Logan was the first African American woman doctor to operate on a human heart.
Dr. Mae C. Jemison: The First African-American Woman AstronautCelebrate Black History by commemorating the accomplishments of the first female African-American astronaut.
Deaf African-American Woman Found Guilty of Murder and Dismemberment wit...For the first time in history, a woman may face the death penalty in South Dakota for the kidnapping, murder, and dismemberment of another deaf woman.
African American Heritage Trail, Mobile AlabamaThe African American Heritage Trail takes you on a journey back in time to show you the role African Americans played in history.- "Still I Rise !": The African-American Woman, and Her Struggle with the Jezebel an...An indepth look at the history of the Jezebel and Mammy stereotypes.
- Bess Coleman: First African American Woman to Became an Airline Pilot
- Bessie Coleman: Flying High on Dreams and Determination
- Bessie - the Lake Erie Monster
- The Sassy African American Woman
- The Oppressions and the Multiple Obligations of the African American Woman
- Eight Ways to Completely Destroy Your Hair If You're an African American Woman
- Suzan-Lori Parks' In the Blood: Book About African American Woman Living In Poverty