Bessie Coleman - COMMUNITY CREATOR

BESSIE COLEMAN was a pioneer in American aviation. The 10th of 13 siblings, she was born on January 26, 1892,  in Atlanta, Texas,  She went on to become the first Black female pilot, and the first Black woman in the U.S. to receive an international pilot's license. 

In 1916, while working as a manicurist, her desire to become an aviator was fueled by the barbershop tales she heard from pilots about their exploits in World War 1.

She wanted to go to flying school to pursue her dream, but domestic flying school discrimination in the U.S. motivated her to go to Europe. She could not go to any American flight schools, because she was Black, and a woman, but she received financial support from a banker and in 1920 went to Europe, where she was trained to fly by French and German aviators.

Upon her return to the U.S., Coleman prospered in Chicago as an "exhibition flier" between 1922-26.  She had hopes of starting a school to train Black aviators, but a tragic flying accident took her life in April 1926, at the age of 34.

Her pioneering achievements has inspired a generation of Black men and women to pursue careers in aviation, including MAE JEMISON, the first Black woman astronaut, who in 1992  carried a picture of Coleman with her on her historic mission in outer space. 

To learn more on the life of Bessie Coleman Google-search her name.

To read a brief bio of Mae Jemison, click on jcdudley.blogspot.com   and see the post of Tuesday, December 16, 2014: " Mae Jemison - Community Creator"