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 Wate!rs, 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
Forty-one years prior to Ms. Coleman's birth, a slave named Celia was executed in the state of Missouri. She was executed because she murdered her white master when he attempted to rape her. Many in Missouri acknowledged that Celia was raped, but "sexual assault on a slave woman by white males was considered trespass, not rape, and an owner could hardly be charged with trespass on his own property" (McLaurin 110-111). However, "the law gave a slave the right to use force to repel physical attacks that threatened his or her life" (McLaurin 101-102). Due to her state of pregnancy, Celia was very ill. After being continuously raped, she threatened Newsom to stop. Celia went as far as to plead with others in the Newsom family for help (McLaurin 31). Lawyers representing Celia tried to show that her life was in danger at the time of Newsom's death. They claimed the death of Newsom was self-defense and that by being refused help, Celia was left with no choice. For obvious reas! Microsoft Encarta Plessy v. Ferguson. There was a tremendous turnout for her funerals. The first was held in Jacksonville, the day after the crash. Following the ceremony, her body was placed aboard a train heading for Orlando. There some friends held a second funeral, which was followed by yet another train ride. This time the train was headed for Chicago, while a friend accompanied Bessie on the trip. Ida B. Wells-Barnett headed this last funeral in Chicago. The turn out of the tens of thousands of people secured her place in history as a leader in her community. Lt. William J. Powell, the founder and president of the Bessie Coleman Aero Clubs stated that, "because of Bessie Coleman, we have overcome that which was much worse than racial barriers. We have overcome the barriers within ourselves and dared to dream" (Rich 120). This statement reflects Bessie's undying devotion to not only flying, but also to the African American people. By keeping the hope alive, Bessie gave both African American women and! Rich, Doris. Queen Bess: Daredevil Aviator. Washington: Smithsonian Institution Bessie flew in many air shows across the United States. On September 3, 1922, Bessie gave her first air show in New York City. Not only was it a personal triumph for her, but it also served to "honor the Fifteenth New York Infantry, part of the all-black 369th American Expeditionary Force" (Haskins 31). An honor that she would bestow on a similar military division in Chicago soon after. Included in her appearances was a show in Columbus, Ohio which coincidentally coincided with a Ku Klux Klan recruitment drive. She was undaunted. The Chicago Defender gave a tremendous amount of publicity for the first public flight of an African American woman in the United States. Creasman, Kim. "Black Birds in the Sky: the Legacies of Bessie Coleman and Dr. Mae Bessie Coleman was born on January 20th, 1896 in Atlanta, Texas. In many historical and biographical accounts her birth year appears as either 1892 or 1893, which ever suited her needs. Her mother Susan was African American, and her father George was three quarters Choctaw Indian and one quarter African (Salzman 606). The combination of ancestry gave Ms. Coleman her copper colored skin tone. Within two years the Coleman family packed up and made the trek 30 miles south of Dallas to Waxahachie, Texas (Mabunda 61). There "was more or less a separate community within Waxahachie where blacks established their own religious, commercial, and social institutions," which was very common at the turn of the century (Rich 5). This move was made to lessen the effects of discrimination and to find better job opportunities, neither of which panned out. Experiencing tremendous discrimination, George Coleman decided to return to Indian Country in Oklahoma. By moving there, he told Su! Today, African American pilots remember Bessie Coleman by flying low over her burial site and dropping flowers on her gr
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Approximate Word count = 3073
Approximate Pages = 12 (250 words per page double spaced)
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