Bessie Coleman

Hello! My name is Bessie Coleman. I was born a long, long time ago, on January 26th, 1892. When I was a little girl, I loved to look up at the big, blue sky. I saw birds flying way up high, and I wished I could fly just like them. Then, I heard stories about flying machines called airplanes. I knew that more than anything, I wanted to fly in an airplane and soar above the clouds. It was my biggest dream.

Wanting to fly was my dream, but learning how was not easy. In my country, the schools for flying would not teach me because I was a Black woman. But I did not let that stop me. I told myself my dream was not impossible. I worked very hard and saved all my money. I even learned a new language called French. In the year 1920, I got on a big ship and sailed across the ocean to a place called France. In France, there was a school that would teach me how to fly.

In France, I went to flying school and learned all about airplanes. It was so much fun. On June 15th, 1921, I did it. I earned my pilot’s license. This meant I was the very first African American woman in the whole world to become a pilot. I was so proud. When I came back home, I flew in big shows. People would watch me from the ground and cheer. They even gave me a special name, 'Queen Bess'. I would zip and zoom and do loops in the sky.

My next big dream was to open my own school to teach other people how to fly, too. I lived to be 34 years old. My life was not very long, but I showed everyone that you can do anything if you are brave and never stop trying. Today, people remember that I reached for the sky. I helped make a path for others to follow their own big dreams.