Bessie Coleman, 1921

"The air is the only place free from prejudices." Bessie Coleman

Historical Biography

Go here for Bessie Coleman 125th Birthday Google Doodle (January 26, 2017)

Bessie Coleman,(1892-1926) the daughter of a poor, southern, African American and Native American family, became one of the most famous women in aviation history.

• "Brave Bessie" or "Queen Bess," as she became known, faced the double difficulties of racial and gender discrimination in early 20th-century America

• In 1921 she began the first African American and Native American woman to earn a pilot's license.

• She was raised at a time when African Americans could not ride in railway cars with White people or use facilities set aside for Whites. Few African Americans were barred from voting in the American South by literacy tests.

• Coleman thrilled audiences with her skills as a barnstormer

• She became a role model for women and African Americans. Her very presence in the air as a pilot and aerial performer threatened prevailing contemporary stereotypes.

• While doing exhibition flying during the 1920s, she refused to perform unless the audiences were desegregated.

                   See Bessie Coleman from PBS for brief biographical information

Bessie Coleman from The History Chicks podcast site

1921 pilot's license from the Fédération Aéronautique Internationale 

Bessie Coleman and her plane, 1922

Primary Sources

American Aviatrixes: Women with Wings--Bessie Coleman from Digital Public Library of America

 Multimedia Resources

The First Female African American Pilot from Smithsonian Channel on YouTube

Open LEARNING, then open VIEW OUR ENSHRINEES and find Bessie Coleman alphabetically. 

Bessie Coleman YouTube from TexanCultures, University of Texas, San Antonio

All-Black Female Airline Crew Honors Bessie Coleman CBS News 2023

Click here for a slideshow on Bessie Coleman and her legacy!

Teaching and Learning Resources

Read about Bessie Coleman in the National Women's Hall of Fame!

African American Trailblazer Bessie Coleman Certainly Had the Wright Stuff. Al Jazeera (January 31, 2017) adapted by Newsela

For more information, see Black Wings: African American Pioneer Aviators from TeachingHistory.org

African American Pioneers in Aviation, 1920 to Present from the National Air and Space Museum

Seventy Years After Bessie Coleman, First African American Pilot examines the accomplishments of Coleman and Carol Moseley Braun, the first African American Senator

National Geographic Kids article on Bessie Coleman