Bessie Coleman

Coleman the tenth of 13 children of George Coleman, an African American who may have had Cherokee or Choctaw grandparents, and Susan Coleman, who was African American. Nine of the children survived childhood, which was typical for the time. ==Career==

Chicago In 1915, at the age of 23, Coleman moved to Chicago, Illinois, where she lived with her brothers. In Chicago, she worked as a manicurist at the White Sox Barber Shop, where she heard stories of flying during wartime from pilots returning home from World War I. She took a second job as a restaurant manager of a chili parlor to save money in hopes of becoming a pilot herself. American flight schools of the time admitted neither women nor black people, so Robert S. Abbott, founder and publisher of the Chicago Defender newspaper, encouraged her to study abroad. On June 15, 1921, Coleman became the first black woman to earn an aviation pilot's license and the first black person Determined to polish her skills, Coleman spent the next two months taking lessons from a French ace pilot near Paris and, in September 1921, she sailed for America. She became a media sensation when she returned to the United States. Airshows With the age of commercial flight still a decade or more in the future, Coleman quickly realized that in order to make a living as a civilian aviator she would have to become a "barnstorming" stunt flier, performing dangerous tricks in the air with the then-still-novel technology of airplanes for paying audiences. But, to succeed in this highly competitive arena, she would need advanced lessons and a more extensive repertoire. Returning to Chicago, she could not find anyone willing to teach her, so in February 1922, she sailed again for Europe. and featured aerial displays by eight other American ace pilots, and a jump by black parachutist Hubert Julian. Six weeks later, Coleman returned to Chicago, performing in an air show, this time to honor World War I's 370th Infantry Regiment. She delivered a stunning demonstration of daredevil maneuversincluding figure eights, loops, and near-ground dips to a large and enthusiastic crowd at the Checkerboard Airdrome – now the grounds of Hines Veterans Administration Medical Center, Hines, Illinois, Loyola Hospital, Maywood, and nearby Cook County Forest Preserve. The thrill of stunt flying and the admiration of cheering crowds were only part of Coleman's dream. Coleman never lost sight of her childhood vow to one day "amount to something". As a professional aviator, Coleman often would be criticized by the press for her opportunistic nature and the flamboyant style she brought to her exhibition flying. She also quickly gained a reputation as a skilled and daring pilot who would stop at nothing to complete a difficult stunt. In 1922, Bessie acquired a Curtiss JN-4D with an OX-5 engine from a Los Angeles Army depot. She had arranged an airshow at the new Los Angeles County Fairgrounds (now Fairplex), but, on February 4, 1923, shortly after takeoff from Santa Monica the motor stalled, and the plane smashed into the ground. Coleman survived and, despite a broken leg and fractured ribs, pleaded with the doctors to "patch her up" enough to perform at the airshow. Instead, she was grounded for several months. Through her media contacts, she was offered a role in a feature-length film titled Shadow and Sunshine, to be financed by the African American Seminole Film Producing Company. She gladly accepted, hoping the publicity would help to advance her career and provide her with some of the money she needed to establish her own flying school. But upon learning that the first scene in the movie required her to appear in tattered clothes, with a walking-stick and a pack on her back, she refused to proceed. "Clearly ... [Bessie's] walking off the movie set was a statement of principle. Opportunist though she was about her career, she was never an opportunist about race. She had no intention of perpetuating the derogatory image most whites had of most blacks," wrote Doris Rich. ==Death==

, near Chicago On April 30, 1926, Coleman was in Jacksonville, Florida. She had recently purchased a Curtiss JN-4 (Jenny) in Dallas. Her mechanic and publicity agent, 24-year-old William D. Wills, flew the plane from Dallas in preparation for an airshow and had to make three forced landings along the way because the plane had been so poorly maintained. Upon learning this, Coleman's friends and family did not consider the aircraft safe and implored her not to fly it, but she refused. On take-off, Wills was flying the plane with Coleman in the other seat. She was planning a parachute jump for the next day and was unharnessed as she needed to look over the side to examine the terrain. About ten minutes into the flight, the plane unexpectedly went into a dive and then a spin at 3,000 feet above the ground. Coleman was thrown from the plane at , and was killed instantly when she hit the ground. Wills was unable to regain control of the plane, and it plummeted to the ground. He died upon impact. The plane exploded, bursting into flames. Although the wreckage of the plane was badly burned, it was later discovered that a wrench used to service the engine had jammed the controls. Coleman was 34 years old. Funeral services were held in Florida, before her body was sent back to Chicago. While there was little mention in most media, news of her death was widely carried in the African-American press. Ten thousand mourners attended her ceremonies in Chicago, which were led by activist Ida B. Wells. ==Honors and legacy==

Although Coleman would not live long enough to establish a school for young black aviators, her pioneering achievements served as an inspiration for a generation of African-American men and women. "Because of Bessie Coleman," wrote Lieutenant William J. Powell in Black Wings (1934), dedicated to Coleman, "we have overcome that which was worse than racial barriers. We have overcome the barriers within ourselves and dared to dream." Powell served in a segregated unit during World War I, and tirelessly promoted the cause of black aviation through his book, his journals, and the Bessie Coleman Aero Club, which he founded in 1929. series. June 15, 1921 (June 15, 1921) is the date she was awarded her international pilots license. • Atlanta, Texas, has a Regional History Museum that displays a downscale reproduction version of Bessie Coleman's yellow bi-plane "Queen Bess". The museum display also includes a uniform and other memorabilia regarding the life and times of Bessie Coleman. Outside the regional history museum is a Texas Historical Marker located at 101 N. East Street in Historic Downtown, Atlanta. The road to the Hall-Miller Municipal Airport in Atlanta is named Bessie Coleman Drive in her honor. • A public library in Chicago was named in Coleman's honor in 1993. • A memorial plaque has been placed by the Chicago Cultural Center at the location of her former home, 41st and King Drive in Chicago, and it is a tradition for African-American aviators to drop flowers during flyovers of her grave at Lincoln Cemetery. • Roads at O'Hare International Airport in Chicago, Oakland International Airport in California, Tampa International Airport in Florida, and at Germany's Frankfurt International Airport are named for her. A roundabout leading to Nice Airport in the South of France was named after Coleman in March 2016, and there are streets in Poitiers, and the 20th Arrondissement of Paris also named after her. • Bessie Coleman Middle School in Cedar Hill, Texas, is named for her. • Bessie Coleman Boulevard in Waxahachie, Texas, where she lived as a child is named in her honor. • B. Coleman Aviation, a fixed-base operator based at Gary/Chicago International Airport, is named in her honor. • Several Bessie Coleman Scholarship Awards have been established for high school seniors planning careers in aviation. • The U.S. Postal Service issued a 32-cent stamp honoring Coleman in 1995. The Bessie Coleman Commemorative is the 18th in the U.S. Postal Service Black Heritage series. • In 2001, Coleman was inducted into the National Women's Hall of Fame. • In 2006, Coleman was inducted into the National Aviation Hall of Fame. • In 2012, a bronze plaque with Coleman's likeness was installed on the front doors of Paxon School for Advanced Studies located on the site of the Jacksonville airfield where Coleman's fatal flight took off. • Coleman was honored with a toy character in season 5, episode 11a of the children's animated television program Doc McStuffins. • Coleman was placed No. 14 on Flyings 2013 list of the "51 Heroes of Aviation". • In 2014, Coleman was inducted into the International Air & Space Hall of Fame at the San Diego Air & Space Museum. • On January 25, 2015, Orlando renamed West Washington Street to recognize the street's most accomplished resident. the 125th anniversary of Coleman's birth, a Google Doodle was posted in her honor. • In December 2019, The New York Times featured Coleman in their Overlooked (obituary feature): "Bessie Coleman, Pioneering African-American Aviatrix" • The French comic book series '''' (2021–2024), revolves around a Cherokee-Black female pilot named Bessie Coleman, who works as a bootlegger for Al Capone. • In 2021, when Juneteenth became a federal holiday, a flyover was held in Colorado to honor both Coleman and the new holiday. • In 2021, the International Astronomical Union named a mountain (and possible volcano) on Pluto, Coleman Mons, in her honor. It is located on the edge of the heart-shaped Tombaugh Regio. • To commemorate the 100th anniversary of Coleman earning her flying license, in August 2022, American Airlines flew a commemorative flight from "Dallas-Fort Worth to Phoenix. The flight was operated by an all-Black Female crew — from the pilots and Flight Attendants to the Cargo team members and the aviation maintenance technician." • Coleman was honored on an American Women quarter in 2023. • Bessie Coleman Elementary School in Corvallis, Oregon, is named after her. • In 2023, Mattel added a Bessie Coleman Barbie doll to its "Inspiring Women" series. • In 2023, The Flight, a play inspired by Bessie Coleman, debuted at the Factory Theatre, written by and starring Beryl Bain. • Coleman's life is charted in the 2025 book A Pair of Wings (Cassava Republic Press) by Carole Hopson, who was inspired by her to become a United Airlines pilot at the age of 50, after a 20-year career as a journalist. • On September 8, 2025, The City of Brussels named a new street in Haren near Brussels Airport / (). • A "Queen Bess" Bessie Coleman Centennial Aviation Film Festival is scheduled for May 2, 2026 at Bult Field in Monee, Illinois. ==See also==