Bessie Coleman the world's first Black Female Aviator (Women Who Changed the World)

In this inspiring episode of "Check This Out!", hosts Amy and Cece celebrate the remarkable life of Bessie Coleman, the first African American woman to earn a pilot's license. 

As part of the "Women Who Changed the World" series along with Black History Month, they explore Bessie's extraordinary journey from her humble beginnings in Texas to becoming a trailblazing aviator in the 1920s. 

Listeners will learn about her struggles against racial and gender barriers, her groundbreaking achievements in aviation, and how she used her platform to advocate for desegregation. 

Join Amy and Cece as they share fascinating facts about Bessie Coleman's life, a poem honoring her legacy, and encourage young minds to dream big like the "Queen Bess" herself!

Transcript

Welcome to Check this out!  A podcast for kids 

(And their grown ups) where we talk about interesting people, places, and ponderings. 

My name is Amy Contreras and I’m Cece! 

Welcome back to another episode in our newest series  on…..

Cece: Women who changed the world! 

February is Black HIstory Month so our first few Women Who Changed the World episodes honor the Black women who have worked so hard to make our world a better place.  The women we are highlighting broke barriers, stood up for others, challenged what the world thought was possible, and created doors for future generations to walk through.  

Cece: They did so much

They sure did!  

And before we get any further, listeners, make sure you subscribe and follow our podcast so you catch all of our new episodes for Black History Month, and the series on Women who Changed the world!  Today’s Woman who Changed the world is Bessie Coleman.  She was the first African American woman and person of indigenous descent to earn her pilot's license way back in 1921. 

Cece: That was a long time ago

It sure was, and Bessie Coleman has an incredible story that I’m so excited to share with you.  If you’ve heard of Amelia Earhart but haven’t heard of Bessie Coleman then you’re in for a treat.  Bessie Coleman was an incredible aviator who broke a lot of barriers and served as an inspiration for both black and female pilots for generations to come. I can’t wait to talk about her impact on the world around her! 

Cece: I’m excited! 

Me too :) 

Cece: Listeners keep your ears open 

Because at the end of the episode we will highlight 3 of our favorite facts about Bessie Coleman that you can check out further on your own after the episode is over.  See if you can guess which facts we will highlight!  

Cece: Let’s get into it

I couldn’t agree more, here we go.  

Bessie Coleman was born in 1892 and she grew up in Texas.  Bessie had a lot of siblings… do you want to guess how many?  

Cece: I don’t know 

Fair enough, she had 12 siblings!  She was the 10th of 13 kids! 

Cece: Whoa no way! 

Yea! Her mom, Susan was of african american descent, and her dad, George was of african american and native american descent.  Three of his grandparents were indigenous - most likely Choctaw or Cherokee.  

Bessie was born before planes even existed! Keep in mind, the first ever plane was flown by the Wright brothers in 1903 when she was 11 years old.  

Cece: I remember hearing about that! 

Yea! We mentioned it in our episode on Amelia Earhart.  

Bessie grew up in the segregated south.  And although her childhood was happy she had quite a few hurdles she had to overcome. 

Cece: Like what mama? 

Beyond dealing with segregation and violence against black people in the surrounding communities, her family didn’t have a ton of resources.  She had to walk 4 miles to get to the segregated school she attended as a child.  It was a small school that was often lacking basic school supplies like paper or pencils.  There was only a single teacher for sometimes up to 50 kids, but Bessie was a star pupil and especially excelled at math.  

Cece: That is cool 

In 1901, when she was 9 years old, Bessie’s childhood changed when her father, George, left the family. He left them to return to “indian territory” as it was called at the time or what we know today as Oklahoma.   He left to find better opportunities and because of the violence and discrimination against black people that was happening in the south and where they lived in texas at the time.  He couldn’t convince Bessie’s mom or siblings to go with him.  So he left the family alone.  Soon after Bessie's father left, her older brothers also left home, leaving her mom with four girls under the age of nine to care for.

Cece: That must have been hard 

I agree.  But Bessie’s mom made sure her children were educated and Bessie read a lot and completed school.  When she was young she had jobs working in the cotton fields and doing laundry for others.  Bessie worked hard with dreams of a better life outside of Texas.  

True or False: Bessie Coleman graduated from college before becoming an aviator 

Cece: The answer is false 

You’re right Cece.  She did attend college for a semester in Oklahoma, but she had to drop out because she couldn’t afford tuition.  But this didn’t stop her

When she was 23 she moved to Chicago and lived with 2 of her older brothers.  Bessie Coleman decided to become a beautician and enrolled in beauty school. She became a manicurist and settled into life in Chicago.  She was a very popular manicurist and she loved reading the African American-led Chicago Defender newspaper.  While living and working in Chicago she became interested in becoming a pilot and learning to fly.  

Cece: How mama? 

Her brother John, who had served in the military, told Bessie about women flying airplanes in France while he was there during the war. She was inspired by his stories and decided that was her ticket to a better future. She applied to almost every American flying school… but was rejected because of her race and gender. 

Cece: That is not ok

But she didn’t give up! She got advice from the editor of that newspaper she loved reading, the Defender.  He suggested she learn French and apply for flying schools in France which was more accepting of black folks.  He eventually helped sponsor her tuition to flight school.  

Cece: Wow 

How do you think Bessie Coleman learned French?  Was it 

1. She got a private french tutor
2. She took classes at a school in the Chicago loop
3. She learned while attending school in France 

Cece: If you said B that was the right answer!  

After taking classes and teaching herself French Bessie Coleman traveled to France in 1920 and attended France’s most famous flying school.  She was accepted by the Caudron Brothers School of Aviation, a well-respected flight school run by the people who built lots of the World War I planes. At flying school in France she completed a ten-month course that included learning how to do stunts like tail spins, banking and looping the loop. 

She was the only person of color in her pilot class.  

Cece: My mind is blown 

Check this out 

Between 1910-11, 10 years before Bessie Coleman earned her license, the Fédération Aéronautique Internationale or FAI granted its first ten pilots' licences to women. The first 10 licensed women pilots were all European, with the exception of Harriet Quimby, the world’s first American licensed pilot. Harriet Quimby was white.  

After 7 months of learning, in June 1921, she earned the Fédération Aéronautique international or FAI pilot's license.  When she earned her license she was the first African American woman to do so and the first person of indigenous descent.  Keep in mind folks, another famous female aviator Amelia Earhart didn’t earn her pilot's license from the same organization until 1923.  Bessie Coleman was truly a trailblazer!!! 

Cece: how incredible 

Ten months after she moved to Paris, she sailed home to Chicago as an official pilot with her license! 

You can see how early Bessie Coleman was as a female and black aviator by moving to France and pursuing her goals.  But Bessie had a dream that meant she needed some more training.  Any idea what her dream might have been? Was it 

1. To be the first African American commercial pilot? 
2. To fight in the Air Force as a pilot 
3. To open a flight school that accepted women and people of color? 

If you said C that was a great guess! Bessie’s dream was to open and instruct at her very own flight school.  Because she knew she needed additional training and experience she returned to Europe where additional training would be possible.  

She returned to Europe for more training in early 1922 and trained for two months in France and ten weeks in Berlin, Germany. She practiced with veteran military pilots in both France and Germany.  She returned to the US for good in 1922 after her 2nd round of training.  

Cece: She worked really hard! 

Yes she did.  And when she came back to the United States she was interviewed by newspapers who wrote about her accomplishments.  

On September 3, 1922, Bessie Coleman made the first public flight by a Black woman in the United States. She was flying in a borrowed Curtiss JN-4D Jenny at Curtiss Field on Long Island.  

Cece: Thats amazing

She had several exciting demonstrations when she came back to the US.  After Long Island she performed  in  Memphis, Tennessee, and then went back home to Chicago for a flying exhibition before an integrated crowd of 2,000 at Checkerboard Field in Chicago on October 15, 1922. 

Check this out! 

Did you know that Bessie Coleman refused to perform flying exhibitions for segregated crowds? She would only perform if the crowds were integrated, or a mix of black and white people.  And if the black folks were allowed to enter through the same gates as the white spectators.  

Cece: I like that! 

Me too!  Bessie Coleman earned a nickname through her exhibitions and flying performances.  She was known as Queen Bess or Brave Bessie.  

After her initial successes in Long Island, Memphis, and Chicago she hit a rough patch with a plane crash and struggling to book exhibitions and opportunities.  Throughout she worked hard and saved money, by  February 1923, Bessie had saved enough to purchase her very own plane - a Jenny, which was a type of plane.  

By May 1925, she was participating in a multi-city flying exhibition tour. Huge crowds watched her perform loops, figure-eights, and parachute jumps, and paid for short rides in her plane.

She aspired to be what was called a Barnstormer.  Want to take a guess about what Barnstorming was? 

1. a pilot who traveled across the country, performing aerial stunts and offering joy rides for a price in an airplane
2. A pilot who took off and landed from a barn, using the surrounding field as the runway 
3. A style of flying where planes outlined the shape of a barn in the sky 

Cece: I think I know the answer 

If you guessed A you’re right! 

Bessie Coleman established herself as a barnstormer through her travels and flying exhibitions.  She traveled around the country barnstorming and participating in flying exhibitions and flying circuses.  

Cece: she sounds really brave.  

She was!  Bessie  was also a popular speaker and was almost in a movie! She spent her time between air shows talking to audiences across the US to promote aviation for people of minority backgrounds.  Her talks were really popular and often earned her more money than her flying shows!  

Bessie Coleman used her platform as an African American pilot to advocate for people of color.  She has a quote that says “The air is the only place free from prejudice.” And as we mentioned earlier she regularly stood up to flight show organizers asking for crowds to be desegregated and for black people to be allowed to enter through the same gates as white people.  

Cece: Thats amazing 

It was, it took a lot of guts to stand up to the institutions she was working with like that.  On April 30, 1926, she was rehearsing for an airshow in Jacksonville, Florida. Bessie’s mechanic was flying the plane while they were rehearsing. During the practice he lost control of the plane and it took a sudden dive. Bessie did not buckle her seat belt for the rehearsal because it prevented her from looking over the side of the plane for her stunt. As a result of the sudden dive Bessie was thrown out of the plane and fell to her death.  The mechanic also went down with the plane and died.  It was later revealed that a wrench had become loose and messed up the controls.  

Cece: How sad 

Bessie was only 34 years old when the accident took her life.  

Over 5000 people attended her funeral.  Ida B. Wells, a civil rights activist who we will talk about in a future episode,  was mistress of ceremonies for Bessie Coleman’s funeral. Her body lay in state in both Florida, where she died, and Chicago, her adopted hometown. 

If you remember from our episode on Rosa Parks, lying in state is an honor given to impactful people upon their death when their coffin is placed on view to allow the public to pay their respects before the funeral ceremony

Here's a fun fact 

Bessie Coleman inspired generations of black, female, and minority aviators.  Have you heard of Dr. Mae Jemison? Well Dr Jemison was the first African American woman in space. We will talk about her in a future episode of Check this out!  When Dr Jemison went to space she carried Bessie Coleman’s picture with her on her first mission in the Space Shuttle Endeavor in September 1992.

Cece: Whoa no way! 

Yup! Bessie Coleman didn’t let anyone get in the way of her achieving her dreams.  Although she never got to open the flight school she dreamed of for minorities and women, her legacy inspired others and showed hopeful pilots what could be possible.  

Now let’s see if you can guess what our 3 favorite facts about Bessie Coleman are? 

Cece: Tell us! Tell us! 

Fact #1: Her brother inspired her to become a pilot from talking about female pilots he saw during WW1 - I love that he was basically teasing her and she took this as a dare to become a pilot and show him what she could do.  

Fact #2: Bessie Coleman was the world’s first black woman to earn a pilot’s license, earning her license 2 years before Amelia Earhart.  If you knew about Amelia Earhart before this episode but not Bessie Coleman, consider why that is? Who else can you tell about Bessie Coleman and her achievements?  

Fact #3:  She actively used her platform as a pilot to stand against discrimination and would only perform for integrated crowds, and insisted black people were let through the same entry gate as whites. She was brave for so many reasons but this one amazes me every time!   

Now if you’ve been listening to our podcast you know we don’t just love exploring interesting people, places, and ponderings that shape the world around us….

Cece: we also love to rhyme 

Here is a poem we wrote for you about Bessie Coleman 

In skies above, Bessie took flight,

With dreams of flying, shining bright.

A trailblazer and pilot, she broke the mold,

Queen Bess of the air, her story still told.

She soared through sky, showing tricks to crowds

Inspiring the world, strong and proud.  

We remember her now, for all she has done 

Brave Bess, a pilot, stayed grounded for none 

Thanks for listening to another episode of Check this out!  Here at the “check this out” podcast we know there is a lot of information and it can be overwhelming to find accurate information! 

This podcast is a tool for you to help you do something called “citing your sources”. As you get older and do projects for school you’ll learn that certain types of websites or information sources aren’t verified or have evidence and documentation to back them up.  

On “check this out” we use verified sources to build the stories you hear about.  

Verified sources are materials or information that have been confirmed for accuracy, and credibility through an evaluation process!  

Cece Our sources for this week are 

the smithsonian national air and space museum, women’s history.org, fai.org, PBS, and encyclopedia britannica 

Cece Thanks for listening Make sure to subscribe! See you next episode.  

 https://airandspace.si.edu/explore/stories/bessie-coleman 

https://www.britannica.com/biography/Bessie-Coleman 

https://www.womenshistory.org/education-resources/biographies/bessie-coleman 

https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexperience/features/flygirls-bessie-coleman/ 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wckEiKzCBqc 

https://airandspace.si.edu/stories/editorial/celebrating-centennial-bessie-coleman 

https://www.fai.org/news/100-years-fai-bessie-coleman-pilot-licence