Mar 20, 2022 05:13 AM
(This post was last modified: Mar 20, 2022 05:29 AM by C C.)
https://science.howstuffworks.com/transp...oleman.htm
EXCERPTS: When we think of the early pioneers in the field of American flight, we'll hear about Amelia Earhart's solo trek across the Atlantic Ocean or Charles Lindbergh's nonstop journey in the Spirit of St. Louis, but the textbooks have often overlooked one pivotal figure who made an early mark on aviation history: Bessie Coleman, the first African American woman to become a licensed pilot, which she accomplished in 1921.
Coleman was born Jan. 26, 1892, and grew up in Waxahachie, Texas, the daughter of a mixed-race Native American and Black father and an African American mother, who both worked as sharecroppers. As the 12th of 13 children, Coleman was put to work in the cotton fields after her father left the family to return to his Native reservation. She attended primary school in a one-room wooden shack.
"But she was a good student — an avid reader. She read about a woman named Harriet Quimby — a woman pilot. She thought that might be something she would be interested in doing," says Dr. Philip S. Hart.
[...] Coleman was preceded by Black male aviators, such as Charles Wesley Peters, the first African American pilot in the U.S., and Eugene J. Bullard, who flew for the French forces in World War I. But Coleman was the first African American female aviatrix to receive a pilot's license.
As a young woman, Coleman sought a different life for herself than the one her parents had, and she attended Oklahoma Colored Agricultural and Normal University (Langston University), but ended up dropping out for financial reasons.
She eventually made her way to Chicago, where her brothers lived, and she worked as a manicurist in a local salon. Her brother, who had returned from fighting during World War I, regaled her with stories of female pilots in France, joking that Coleman would never be able to fly like them. Such teasing only spurred on Coleman's ambitions to become a pilot.
While working in the salon, Coleman also met Robert Abbott, publisher of the Chicago Defender, which was a leading newspaper serving the Black community. Abbot would become her mentor, supporting her interests in aviation, and he would later write about her flight shows in his publication.
"One of the reasons he wanted to support her was because he knew her exploits would make for good stories in his newspaper," says Hart.
Based on her gender and color, she was denied admission to all the aviation schools she applied to in the United States. At Abbott's encouragement, Coleman studied French and went to Paris to learn how to fly, receiving an international pilot's license from the Fédération Aéronautique Internationale in 1921. While there, Coleman befriended fellow Black American expatriates like Bullard and entertainer Josephine Baker.
After receiving her license, Coleman returned to the U.S., but the only job opportunity for a trained pilot — delivering mail for the Postal Service — was unavailable to her as a Black person and as a woman. So, she turned to performing death-defying aerial stunts — also known as "barnstorming." Her first air show took place at the Checkerboard Field in Chicago in 1922... (MORE - details)
SURROGATE INTERVIEW OF BESSIE COLEMAN: https://youtu.be/4mXoI4l1NXs
Who is the first black female pilot in history? Bessie Coleman. https://youtu.be/hyD3oBnebXA
https://www.youtube-nocookie.com/embed/hyD3oBnebXA
EXCERPTS: When we think of the early pioneers in the field of American flight, we'll hear about Amelia Earhart's solo trek across the Atlantic Ocean or Charles Lindbergh's nonstop journey in the Spirit of St. Louis, but the textbooks have often overlooked one pivotal figure who made an early mark on aviation history: Bessie Coleman, the first African American woman to become a licensed pilot, which she accomplished in 1921.
Coleman was born Jan. 26, 1892, and grew up in Waxahachie, Texas, the daughter of a mixed-race Native American and Black father and an African American mother, who both worked as sharecroppers. As the 12th of 13 children, Coleman was put to work in the cotton fields after her father left the family to return to his Native reservation. She attended primary school in a one-room wooden shack.
"But she was a good student — an avid reader. She read about a woman named Harriet Quimby — a woman pilot. She thought that might be something she would be interested in doing," says Dr. Philip S. Hart.
[...] Coleman was preceded by Black male aviators, such as Charles Wesley Peters, the first African American pilot in the U.S., and Eugene J. Bullard, who flew for the French forces in World War I. But Coleman was the first African American female aviatrix to receive a pilot's license.
As a young woman, Coleman sought a different life for herself than the one her parents had, and she attended Oklahoma Colored Agricultural and Normal University (Langston University), but ended up dropping out for financial reasons.
She eventually made her way to Chicago, where her brothers lived, and she worked as a manicurist in a local salon. Her brother, who had returned from fighting during World War I, regaled her with stories of female pilots in France, joking that Coleman would never be able to fly like them. Such teasing only spurred on Coleman's ambitions to become a pilot.
While working in the salon, Coleman also met Robert Abbott, publisher of the Chicago Defender, which was a leading newspaper serving the Black community. Abbot would become her mentor, supporting her interests in aviation, and he would later write about her flight shows in his publication.
"One of the reasons he wanted to support her was because he knew her exploits would make for good stories in his newspaper," says Hart.
Based on her gender and color, she was denied admission to all the aviation schools she applied to in the United States. At Abbott's encouragement, Coleman studied French and went to Paris to learn how to fly, receiving an international pilot's license from the Fédération Aéronautique Internationale in 1921. While there, Coleman befriended fellow Black American expatriates like Bullard and entertainer Josephine Baker.
After receiving her license, Coleman returned to the U.S., but the only job opportunity for a trained pilot — delivering mail for the Postal Service — was unavailable to her as a Black person and as a woman. So, she turned to performing death-defying aerial stunts — also known as "barnstorming." Her first air show took place at the Checkerboard Field in Chicago in 1922... (MORE - details)
SURROGATE INTERVIEW OF BESSIE COLEMAN: https://youtu.be/4mXoI4l1NXs
Who is the first black female pilot in history? Bessie Coleman. https://youtu.be/hyD3oBnebXA