Bessie Coleman: The Quiet Radical Who Broke Barriers

Bessie Coleman never set out to be a trailblazer, but history made her one anyway. Born in 1892 in Texas to an African American mother and a Native American father, Coleman grew up during the Jim Crow era, in a society structured to exclude her on the basis of both race and gender. Discrimination and segregation were not abstract concepts; they shaped the reality of her everyday life from an early age.

In 1915, Coleman moved from Texas to Chicago, joining the Great Migration and her brothers in search of greater opportunity. After enrolling at the Burnham School of Beauty Culture, she became a manicurist and quickly rose to become one of the most sought-after manicurists in Black Chicago. Yet even with success, the limits imposed on her remained. Five years into life in the city, she encountered the same barriers she had known in Texas - only now, she understood them fully as an adult.

At 27, everything shifted. One of her brothers returned from World War I and spoke of seeing women flying aeroplanes in France. For Coleman, it sparked what she later described as a new lease of life. Determined to fly, she applied to nearly every aviation school in the United States, only to be rejected repeatedly because she was both Black and a woman. So, she did what she would become known for: she looked beyond borders.

Taking French classes at the Berlitz Language School in Chicago, Coleman travelled to Paris in 1920 to earn her pilot’s licence. On 15 June 1921 she did just that, becoming the first Black woman, and the first Black person, to hold an international aviation licence from the Fédération Aéronautique Internationale.

When she returned to the United States in September 1921, Coleman was met by reporters from national African American newspapers. She soon began touring the country as a stunt pilot, performing daring tricks at airshows. Known as “Queen Bess” and the “Daredevil Aviatrix,” her debut performance in Chicago drew more than 2,000 spectators from diverse backgrounds - an audience she insisted must never be segregated.

Despite her growing fame, Coleman’s ambitions were rooted in collective progress. Her dream was to open a flight school for Black aviators to create pathways where none existed and ensure that her success was not an anomaly. Though her life was cut short in 1926 at just 34, her vision outlived her. She left behind a blueprint for self-determination: when institutions deny you access, build your own runway.

Today, Bessie Coleman’s legacy resonates far beyond aviation. In industries still grappling with representation and gatekeeping, her story reminds us that progress is rarely granted – it’s pursued. She didn’t just take flight; she redefined who was allowed in the sky.