The Black Female Pilot History Forgot

Bessie Coleman is a centerpiece of aviation museums and halls of fame today, having paved the way for women and people of color to soar in pursuit of their dreams. PBSnotesthat more than 10,000 people attended her funeral, where civil rights pioneer Ida B. Wells spoke. In 1929, asThe National Aviation Hall of Famerelates, a

Bessie Coleman is a centerpiece of aviation museums and halls of fame today, having paved the way for women and people of color to soar in pursuit of their dreams. PBS notes that more than 10,000 people attended her funeral, where civil rights pioneer Ida B. Wells spoke. In 1929, as The National Aviation Hall of Fame relates, a flight school for Black people was finally opened: the Bessie Coleman Aero Club in Los Angeles. According to the US Centennial of Flight Commission, Black aviators started annually flying over her Chicago gravesite in tribute in 1931, and buildings in Harlem were named in her honor that year. Her legacy lives on in France, too: Entrée to Black Paris notes that she has streets named after her in two French cities, Poitiers and Paris.

Mae Jemison, the first Black woman in space, is quoted as saying, "It's tempting to draw parallels between [us ... but] I point to Bessie Coleman and say here is a woman, a being, who exemplifies and serves as a model for all humanity, the very definition of strength, dignity, courage, integrity, and beauty." Today, fewer than three percent of professional pilots are women, according to the Royal Aeronautical Society – there's a long way to go to achieve Coleman's dream of gender and racial diversity in the air. 

In 2021, the centennial of her historic achievement — getting that pilot's license — will be celebrated on June 15, as the Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association notes.

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