Bessie Coleman standing alongside a plane in a field. Next to her is an unidentified male pilot. Coleman is wearing a leather pilot's cap, goggles and a jacket. . Bessie Coleman was an African American civil aviator. She was the first woman of African-American descent to hold a civilian pilot license. Due to discrimination against blacks in the U. S., she traveled to Paris in, 1920 to learn to fly and earn an international pilot's license. She then returned to the United States in 1921 and became a "barnstorming" stunt flier. "Queen Bess," as she was known, was a highly popular draw for the next five years. She was a speaker, was often interviewed by newspapers, and she was admired by both blacks and whites. In 1926 Coleman died in a tragic airplane accident. She was 34 years old.
Type
image
Identifier
uclalsc_1889_b20_f01_008.tif ark:/21198/z17q0gm5
Subject
Air pilots African Americans in aeronautics Aircraft accidents African American women air pilots Coleman, Bessie,1892-1926
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