Today in Mighty Girl History, Bessie Coleman, the first African-American female pilot, was born in 1892. After hearing stories from pilots returning WWI, Coleman decided that she wanted to learn to fly but no American flight schools would accept her due to her race and gender.
To pursue her dream, Coleman studied French and traveled to France in 1920 to enroll in a French flight school. There, she earned her international pilot license, becoming the first African-American to do so. After returning to the US, she specialized in stunt flying and quickly became a media sensation and a popular draw at airshows, earning the nickname “Queen Bess.”
Though Coleman was tragically killed in a plane crash at the age of 33, her legacy lived on. Following her death in 1926, Bessie Coleman Aero Clubs for African-American aviators appeared across the US. In his book “Black Wings,” Lieutenant William Powell described how Coleman served as an inspiration to many African-American aviators: “Because of Bessie Coleman, we have overcome that which was worse than racial barriers. We have overcome the barriers within ourselves and dared to dream."
When Mae Jemison became the first African-American astronaut in 1992, one of the few personal objects she brought with her on the spaceflight was a photo of her hero, Bessie Coleman.
For books for young readers about Bessie Coleman, as well as dolls and a coloring book in her honor, visit A Mighty Girl’s Bessie Coleman Collection.
For more stories of trailblazing women aviators, visit A Mighty Girl's plane section.
