Published: June 28, 2008 07:41 pm            

Bessie Coleman: A pioneer for women, her race

Bessie Coleman overcame the dual obstacles of racial and gender bias to excel in the field of aviation. She was born in 1896 in the small East Texas community of Atlanta, but as a small child moved with her family to Waxahachie. She developed an early interest in flying and determined to become a pilot. However, she was denied admission to training because she was Black and female.

Consequently, she left the cotton fields of north central Texas and headed to Chicago, where she opened a chili parlor. The business was successful, enabling her to save enough money to travel to France, a society that was provided more opportunities to women and to people of color. Coleman earned her international pilot’s license from the International Aeronautical Federation in 1921, two years before history’s most renowned female aviator Amelia Earhart received her license.

With her training complete, Coleman returned to the United States, ready, as she stated, to “put a little color into aviation.” Over the next five years, she was a major attraction at air shows all over the country. Possessed with a charismatic personality and a flair for showmanship, she was adept at garnering publicity and financial backing. She was a frequent speaker at schools and churches, and she entertained audiences with her stunt flying and parachuting whenever she could borrow a plane.

She dreamed of opening a flying school for African-Americans, and with her connections with the Black media, particularly in the Chicago area, she was making great strides in raising funds to achieve that goal. But tragedy stuck. While practicing for an air show in 1926 in Jacksonville, Fla., her inexpensive World War I plane malfunctioned and crashed. Bessie Coleman was killed. She was only 30 years old at the time of her death. In 1992 the city of Chicago proclaimed May 2 as Bessie Coleman Day in recognition of her accomplishments and for her courage in helping to open doors for Blacks and women in the field of aviation.

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Dr. Tommy Stringer is executive director of the Navarro College Foundation. His radio show, “Texas Legends,” airs at 6:55 a.m. weekdays on KAND Radio.

        

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