Biographical Sketches

BESSIE COLEMAN

Born: January 26, 1892    In: Atlanta, TX
Died: April 30, 1926    In: Jacksonville, FL

Long Island’s black communities turned out nearly 1000-strong for the big air show at Curtiss Field in Mineola in Sept 1922. The cause of all the excitement was Bessie Coleman, making her first flight in America since her return from France, where she had become the first licensed black pilot in the world.

Coleman, then 29, had gone to France to train after being rejected by American aviation schools because she was black and a woman. She soared three times that September day in a tiny Curtiss JN4D, the first American-made plane she had flown. Her performance, she said, was to "honor the 115th Infantry, the colored regiment" and to "create an interest in aviation" among her people. She went on to barnstorm the country, returning several times to perform in Mineola air shows.

Born in Texas in 1893, Coleman determined after World War I to learn to fly. The climate was inhospitable for women pilots, as well as blacks. A year before Coleman’s appearance in Mineola, Laura Bromwell, a daring young aviator, had crashed while looping over the same field, causing the New York Times to suggest that women be excluded from an activity "in which their presence certainly is unnecessary."

Four years later Coleman met the same fate over Florida, but her causes survived. Bessie Coleman Aero Groups, organized after her death, staged the first all-black air show in 1931.

REFERENCES:
Talkin’ ‘Bout Bess; Nikki Grimes (1998)

Denotes an individual known to have soloed an aircraft prior to December 16, 1917, whether they were members of the "Early Birds of Aviation" Organization or not.