Great Women in Aviation #2 - Bessie Coleman (Great Women in Aviation)

These short biographies in the Great Women in Aviation series tell the stories of notable women pilots whose passion for flight inspires young and old alike to take to the skies. This 1500 word monograph is not meant to be a comprehensive history of Bessie Coleman’s life, but it discusses her involvement for aviation. The main purpose of this biography is to inspire youth to follow their dreams of flight.

Bessie Coleman was born in Atlanta, Texas on January 26, 1893, the 12th of 13 children born to a former slave. Her mother motivated her and instilled a driving force that helped her fight overwhelming odds, blatant racism, and sexism to become the first licensed Africa American licensed pilot. pilot in the USA.
From an early age her mother urged her to "become somebody." Although her mother could not read, she managed to borrow books from a traveling library, hoping that somehow Bessie could teach herself to read. "I did," said Coleman, "and I found a brand new world in the written word. I couldn't get enough. I wanted to learn so badly that I finished high school something very unusual for a black woman in those days.