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. Bessie Coleman standing in front of an airplane propeller. She is wearing a pilot's jumpsuit.
Type
image
Identifier
uclalsc_1889_b20_f01_005.tif ark:/21198/z1n02qp6
Subject
African Americans in aeronautics African American women air pilots Coleman, Bessie,1892-1926
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