Bessie Coleman: Black Aviatrix
Elizabeth "Bessie" Coleman is an unknown figure in American history. At first, "she complied with society's standard of job opportunities for women at the turn of the century by working as a domestic and later a manicurist" (Creasman 162-3). After feeling unfulfilled, she turned to flying. The search for flying lessons by an African American in the 1920's alone could have discouraged anyone, but not Bessie. Her dream was to open a flight school where young African American men could learn how to fly. This was a bold endeavor for any person regardless of race. After acquiring an international pilot's license, she became somewhat of a novelty. She was African American, a woman, and a pilot. Realizing her power as an attraction, she would only fly in air shows with the understanding that they not be segregated (Freydberg 91). Bessie was very intelligent, often surrounding herself with women and men of power. Examples being Ida B. Wells-Barnett, Josephine Baker, Ethel Waters, Bill "Bojangles" Robinson, Robert Abbott, Miriam A. "Ma" Ferguson, and Kojo Touvalou-Houenou. Ms. Coleman was also active in both the NAACP, and Marcus Garvey's Universal Negro Improvement Association (Freydberg 28). She also attended the Second Pan Afr
France was never an issue of race, but one of gender. Bessie realized that women were being excluded from aviation, no one would teach her. She finally convinced the Ecole d'Aviation des Freres Caudron at Le Crotoy to let her fly but only after she signed a waiver of liability (Freydberg 81). Her hardships continued when, with no transportation, she had to walk the nine miles to and from the airfield. Bessie considered it all part of her physical training in preparation of her International pilot's license (Rich 32). After completing her training, she was placed on the schools register as a graduate, and was allowed to pursue her elusive pilot's license. On June 15, 1921, Bessie Coleman earned her Federation Arenautique Internationale license, the only license recognized all over the world. She soon departed for Paris where she reportedly took lessons from a World War I ace. Upon completion of her training, Bessie returned to the United States. At this point, it is easy to see that her mother had a tremendous influence on her. Wanting a better future for her family, Susan Coleman would save up any money possible to obtain books from a library wagon. She would have her children read the bible as well as attend church. "As soon as Bessie learned how to read she was assigned a reading from the Bible every night after dinner" (Rich 9). Her reading also incorporated works on African American heroes including Booker T. Washington, Paul Lawrence Dunbar, and Harriet Tubman. After reading Uncle Tom's Cabin, she announced that "I'll never be a Topsy or an Uncle Tom" (Rich 11). Susan Coleman also studied her white employers and instructed her children how to emulate them. This would only serve to help Bessie in the future. Bessie was considered a novelty when she flew. Not only was she African American, but she was also a petite woman. She did seemingly the impossible in a time when many considered a woman to be less than equal to men, and African Americans less than equal to whites. Bessie Coleman controlled a large piece of machinery, one in which she could not wear her seatbelt in order to survey the ground below. This small woman broke down social barriers. In these shows, she desegregated the gates and the audiences. She used her "novelty" to teach others when ever possible. This happened at shows, churches, theaters, meeting houses, and any other place she could be heard. Her goal was to teach African American men fly, and though she fell short in her goal to create an air school, she did serve as an influence to many whom followed. Bessie exploited herself in order to help African Americans as a whole. Finding someone, a white someone, to teach her how to fly was impossible. This was a harsh time for African Americans, especially with the resurgence of the Ku Klux Klan. With this resurrection came director D.W. Griffith's Birth of a Nation, a movie "glorifying the anti-black, anti-Catholic, anti-Jewish Klan" (Rich 16). A movie cheered by whites everywhere, including Chicago. Bessie turned to Robert Abbott, founder and editor of the African American Chicago Defender, for help. He told Bessie that France was the place for her. Over there, her race would not be an issue. Robert Abbott was very influential in not only Chicago, but also the United States as a whole. He distributed his newspaper by means of Pullman porters, successfully circumventing the racist government postal service of the South (Freydberg 73). After leaving her job and opening a chili stand to increase her funds, Bessie left for France.
Some common words found in the essay are:
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Approximate Word count = 3257
Approximate Pages = 13 (250 words per page double spaced)
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