Bessie Coleman

Elizabeth 'Bessie' Coleman (January 26, 1892 – April 30, 1926), popularly known as "Queen Bess," was the first African American (male or female) to become an airplane pilot, [cite web | publisher = Women in Aviation International | title = Some Notable Women In Aviation History | url = http://www.wai.org/resources/history.cfm | accessdate = 2008-04-10] and the first American of any race or gender to hold an international pilot license.cite web | publisher = Women in Aviation International | title = Pioneer Hall of Fame | url = http://www.wai.org/resources/pioneers.cfm#1995 | accessdate = 2008-04-10]

Biography

Born in Atlanta, Texas, Coleman was the tenth of thirteen children. Her father, George Coleman, was of part Cherokee ancestry. [Atlanta Historical Museum, [http://www.bessiecoleman.com/Other%20Pages/texas.html Texas Roots.] Accessed 2007-04-10.] Her parents were sharecroppers, yet her early childhood was a happy one, spent playing in the front yard or on the porch. Sunday mornings and afternoons were spent at church. As the other children began to age and find work in the fields, Coleman assumed responsibilities around the house. She looked after her sisters, helped her mother, Susan Coleman, work in her garden, and performed many of the everyday chores of running the house.

Coleman began school at the age of six and had to walk four miles each day to her all-black, one-room school. Despite sometimes lacking such materials as chalk and pencils, Bessie was an excellent student. She loved to read and established herself as an outstanding math student. Bessie completed all eight grades of her one-room school. Every year, Coleman's routine of school, chores, and church was interrupted by the cotton harvest. Each man, woman, and child was needed to pick the cotton, so the Coleman family worked together in the fields during the harvest.

In 1901, Bessie Coleman's life took a dramatic turn: George Coleman left his family. He had become fed up with the racial barriers that existed in Texas. He returned to Oklahoma, or Indian Territory as it was then called, to find better opportunities, but Susan and the children did not go with him.

At the age of twelve, Bessie was accepted into the Missionary Baptist Church. When she turned eighteen, Coleman took all of her savings and enrolled in the Oklahoma Colored Agricultural and Normal University (now called Langston University) in Langston, Oklahoma. Bessie completed only one term before she ran out of money and was forced to return home. Coleman knew there was no future for her in her home town, so she went to live with two of her brothers in Chicago while she looked for a job.

Chicago

In 1915, at the age of twenty-three, Coleman moved to Chicago, Illinois, where she lived with her brothers and where she worked at the White Sox Barber Shop as a manicurist. There she heard tales of the world from pilots who were returning home from World War I. They told stories about flying in the war, and Coleman started to fantasize about being a pilot. Her brother used to tease her by commenting that French women were better than African-American women because French women were pilots already. At the barbershop, Coleman met many influential men from the black community, including Robert S. Abbott, founder and publisher of the "Chicago Defender", and Jesse Binga, a real estate promoter. Coleman received financial backing from Binga, and from the "Chicago Defender", who capitalized on her flamboyant personality and her beauty to promote his newspaper, and to promote her cause. She could not gain admission to American flight schools because she was black and a woman. No black U.S. aviator would train her either. Robert Abbott encouraged her to study abroad.

France

Coleman took French language class at the Berlitz school in Chicago, and then traveled to Paris on November 20, 1920. Coleman learned to fly in a Nieuport Type 82 biplane, with "a steering system that consisted of a vertical stick the thickness of a baseball bat in front of the pilot and a rudder bar under the pilot's feet." [Rich, Doris. "Queen Bess: Daredevil Aviator", Washington: Smithsonian Institution Press, p. 37, 1993] On June 15, 1921 Bessie Coleman became not only the first African-American woman to earn an international aviation license from the Fédération Aéronautique Internationale, but the first African-American woman in the world to earn an aviation pilot's license. Determined to polish her skills, Coleman spent the next two months taking lessons from a French ace pilot near Paris, and in September sailed for New York.

Airshows

Coleman quickly realized that in order to make a living as a civilian aviator—the age of commercial flight was still a decade or more in the future—she would need to become a stunt flier, "barnstorming," and perform for paying audiences. But to succeed in this highly competitive arena, she would need advanced lessons and a more extensive repertoire. Returning to Chicago, Coleman could find no one willing to teach her, so in February 1922, she sailed again for Europe. She spent the next two months in France completing an advanced course in aviation, then left for Holland to meet with Anthony Fokker, one of the world's most distinguished aircraft designers. She also traveled to Germany, where she visited the Fokker Corporation and received additional training from one of the company's chief pilots. She returned to the United States with the confidence and enthusiasm she needed to launch her career in exhibition flying. [Rich, Doris. p. 47, 1993]

Coleman made her first appearance in an American air show on September 3, 1922, at an event honoring veterans of the all-black 369th American Expeditionary Force of World War I. Held at Curtiss Field near New York City and sponsored by her friend Abbott and the Chicago Defender newspaper, the show billed Coleman as "the world's greatest woman flyer" and featured aerial displays by eight other American ace pilots. Six weeks later she returned to Chicago to deliver a stunning demonstration of daredevil maneuvers—including figure eights, loops, and near-ground dips—to a large and enthusiastic crowd at the Checkerboard Airdrome (now Chicago Midway Airport).

In September 1921, she became a media sensation when she returned to the United States. Invited to important events and often interviewed by newspapers, she was admired by both blacks and whites. In 1922, she participated at her first airshow, in Long Island. Coleman continued to perform in airshows, and survived several crashes. In Los Angeles, California, she broke a leg and three ribs when her plane stalled and crashed on February 22, 1922. She primarily flew Curtiss JN-4 "Jenny" biplanes and army surplus aircraft left over from the war. "Queen Bess," as she was known, was a highly popular draw for the next five years. But 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 would often be criticized by the press for her opportunistic nature and the flamboyant style she brought to her exhibition flying. However, she also quickly gained a reputation as a skilled and daring pilot who would stop at nothing to complete a difficult stunt.

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," wrote Doris Rich, " [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." [Rich, Doris. p. 57, 1993]

Unfortunately, Coleman would not live long enough to fulfill her greatest dream—establishing a school for young, black aviators—but 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, William J., "Black Wings", Ivan Deach, Jr., 1934] 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. [Broadnax, Samuel L. "Blue Skies, Black Wings: African American Pioneers of Aviation", Greenwood Press, 2007, p. 17,]

Death

On April 30, 1926, Coleman, at the age of thirty-four, was in Jacksonville, Florida. She had recently purchased a plane in Dallas and had it flown to Jacksonville in preparation for an airshow. Her friends and family did not consider the aircraft safe and implored her not to fly it. Her mechanic and publicity agent, William Wills, was flying the plane with Coleman in the other seat. Coleman did not put on her seatbelt because she was planning a parachute jump for the next day and wanted to look over the cockpit to examine the terrain. About ten minutes into the flight, the plane did not pull out of a planned nosedive; instead it accelerated into a tailspin. Bessie Coleman was thrown from the plane at 500 feet and died instantly when she hit the ground. William Wills was unable to gain control of the plane and it plummeted to the ground. Wills died upon impact and the plane burst into flames. Although the wreckage of the plane was badly burned, it was later discovered that a wrench used to service the engine had slid into the gearbox and jammed it, causing the plane to spin out of control. Experts noted at the time that gears in more modern planes had a protective covering — an accident like this need not have happened. [Rich, Doris. p. 111, 1993]

Legacy and honors

On May 2, 1926, her funeral was attended by 5,000 mourners in Jacksonville, Florida. Many of them, including Ida B. Wells, were prominent members of black society. Three days later, her remains arrived in Orlando, Florida, where thousands more attended a funeral at the city's Mount Zion Missionary Baptist Church. Her last journey on May 5 was to Chicago's Pilgrim Baptist Church. An estimated 10,000 people filed past the coffin all night and all day. After funeral services, she was buried in the Lincoln Cemetery." [Rich, Doris. pp. 109-110, 1993)]

Over the years, recognition of Coleman's accomplishments has grown. Coleman's impact on aviation history, and particularly African Americans, quickly became apparent following her death. In 1927, Bessie Coleman Aero Clubs suddenly sprang up throughout the country. On Labor Day, 1931, these clubs sponsored the first all-African American Air Show, which attracted approximately 15,000 spectators. That same year, a group of African American pilots established an annual flyover of Coleman's grave in Lincoln Cemetery in Chicago. Coleman's name also began appearing on buildings in Harlem.

In 1989, First Flight Society inducted Bessie in the shrine, which honors those individuals and groups that have achieved significant "firsts" in aviation's development. [ [http://www.firstflight.org/shrine/bessie_colman.cfm First Flight Society inducted Coleman] ]

A conference room at the Federal Aviation Administration, 2nd floor, Washington, DC, is named after Bessie Coleman. In 1990, Chicago Mayor Richard M. Daley renamed Old Mannheim Road at O'Hare International Airport "Bessie Coleman Drive." In 1992, he proclaimed May 2 "Bessie Coleman Day in Chicago."

Mae Jemison, physician and former NASA astronaut, wrote in the book, "Queen Bess: Daredevil Aviator" (1993): "I point to Bessie Coleman and say without hesitation that here is a woman, a being, who exemplifies and serves as a model to all humanity: the very definition of strength, dignity, courage, integrity, and beauty. It looks like a good day for flying." [Rich, Doris. "Queen Bess: Daredevil Aviator", Washington: Smithsonian Institution Press, p. 145, 1993]

In 1995, she was honored with her image on a U.S. postage stamp, and was inducted into the Women in Aviation Hall of Fame.

In November 2000, Bessie was inducted in The Texas Aviation Hall of Fame. [ [http://www.bessiecoleman.com/Other%20Pages/release_1.html The Texas Aviation Hall of Fame] ]

She is the subject of "Barnstormer," a musical debuting 20-21 October 2008 at the National Alliance for Musical Theater Festival in New York; the book and lyrics are by Cheryl Davis and the music is by Douglas Cohen. [http://www.playbill.com/news/article/119576.html]

In 2004, a small park in the South Side Chicago Hyde park neighborhood was named "Bessie Coleman Park." Additionally, the Bessie Coleman park council was formed in 2005 as one of many responses to a serious increase in crime, shootings, and disorderly loitering in and near the park, at 54th and Drexel. [http://www.hydepark.org/parks/BessieColemanPark.htm]

Notes

References

*Bilstein, Roger. "Aviation in Texas", Austin: Texas Monthly Press, 1985
*King, Anita. "Brave Bessie: First Black Pilot", Parts 1 and 2, Essence Magazine, May, June 1976
*Fisher, Lillian M., "Brave Bessie: Flying Free", Hencrick-Long, 1995
*Freydberg, Elizabeth Hadley. "Bessie Coleman: The Brownskin Lady Bird", Garland, 1994
*Hart, Philip S. "Up in the Air: The Story of Bessie Coleman", First Avenue Editions, 1996
*Johnson, Dolores. "She Dared to Fly: Bessie Coleman", New York: Benchmark Books, 1997
*Plantz, Connie. "Bessie Coleman: First Black Woman Pilot", Enslow Publishers, 2001
*Rich, Doris L. "Queen Bess: Daredevil Aviator", Washington: Smithsonian Institution Press, 1993
*Dallas Morning News, September 8, 1993
*Houston Post-Dispatch, May 1, 1926

External links

* [http://www.bessiecoleman.com/default.html Bessie Coleman official website] Atlanta Historical Museum
* [http://www.nasm.si.edu/interact/blackwings/hstudent/bio.cfm Black Wings: Online Biography]
* [http://www.hiatoys.com/bessie.html Bessie Coleman Action Figure]
* [http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/flygirls/peopleevents/pandeAMEX02.html PBS, The American Experience: Bessie Coleman]
* [http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=19750 Find-A-Grave profile for Bessie Coleman]
* [http://www.hmdb.org/marker.asp?MarkerID=4848 Bessie Coleman Historical Marker]