Queen Bess

When I was in elementary school I read this story about a young Black woman in the early 1900’s who was said to be the first Black American female pilot ever. This was very interesting to me because as much as I was taught the importance of Black history in my house, added to how much my family loved to fly, I had never been taught the history of Black pilots in America, let alone Black female pilots at that. That young Black female pilot who’s history I came to know was Bessie Colman.

Elizabeth “Bessie” Colman was born on January 16, 1892 in the small city of Atlanta, Texas to George and Susan Coleman. Bessie came from a large host of siblings being the tenth child born to a family of 13 offsprings by her parents. The Colman family was a family of sharecroppers in the south. Out of all 13 children in the family only nine of them lived to see adulthood, Bessie would be one of them. From her earliest years it would not have been difficult to guess that Bessie was a strong willed force of life that was going to grow to be someone special.

When she started school at the age of six she had to walk four miles to a segregated classroom where she sat and learned in seclusion from her peers. The typical child older than the tender age of six should not have been burdened with such responsibilities, so for Bessie to have taken on such and remained dedicated to it was a clear indication that a bright future lay ahead for her. In the classroom Bessie was a prodigy at math, at home she worked hard on her chores, attending church and attending to the business of her family’s sharecropping. She managed to balance it all very well.

Bessie was also very smart at managing her finances. By the time she was 18 years old she had saved up enough money and attended what is now known as Langston University in Oklahoma. When her money ran low she moved in with brothers in Chicago, Illinois and worked as a manicurist and a restaurant manager. It was here that she would be put on her path to being a pilot. While working as a manicurist for a barbershop she would hear the war stories of pilots who flew over in World War I. This inspired her to want to be a pilot and she began saving her money from both of her jobs in hopes of putting herself through piloting education. The issue for Bessie was urging this time in America flight training schools did not allow training for women or people of color, so Bessie was against all odds. Though the odds were against her in every way possible, Bessie was determined to fulfill her dreams.

Bessie learned from famed African American newspaper publisher, Robert Abbot, that her best chance at becoming a pilot would be to study training abroad, particularly in France. After learning fluent French at school in Chicago and by November of 1920 she made it to France. Following her arrival Bessie was accepted at the Caudron Brothers' School of Aviation in Le Crotoy, France. By June of 1921 Bessie earned her international Pilot’s License, she was the first African American overall to do so. She eventually returned to the US with the dream of opening a flight school and becoming a flight instructor. Due to aviation still being in its infancy Bessie’s work was regulated to touring the country giving flight lessons, performing in flight shows and giving speeches about her flight experience.

Bessie was big on not attending segregated events when sharing her flight experiences and giving speeches to the Black community with hopes to inspire us all to follow in her footsteps. Bessie died on April 30, 1926 while participating in a flight test, she was only 34 years. In her relatively short life she did so much for her people. She paved the way for every Black American that has come along since her time. She broke stereotypes about us as Black Americans and she her legacy is living proof that hard work pays, it can be groundbreaking and we do have the power to shape the future.

Black History Month celebrates Bessie “Queen Bess” Coleman. Thank you for opening doors for us all.