The first Black woman to earn her wings continues to inspire
A street on the east side of O’Hare International Airport in Chicago is named in honor of Bessie Coleman. In 1921, she became the first Black woman and first Native American to earn an international pilot’s license.
I had known Coleman was a pioneering aviator, but I learned much more about her life when listened to a recent interview on NPR’s “Morning Edition.” NPR’s Michel Martin interviewed Carole Hopson, a United Airlines Boeing 737 captain and the author of a new novel based on Colman’s life, “A Pair of Wings.”
Hopson was a corporate executive when she found out about Colman, which inspired her to become a pilot. She had always been intrigued by flying.
In the NPR segment, Hopson shared about the hurdles Bessie Coleman faced as she sought to become an aviator and get a license. Hopson shared that Coleman, born in Texas, was the daughter of a slave and moved to Chicago to begin her journey. Hence, the street named in her honor at O’Hare, Bessie Coleman Drive.
“She meets two men. One became her lover, one became her mentor. One was the first Black banker in Chicago and the first publisher,” Hopson said in the interview. “And the publisher says to her, you know, I’ve written away to people, flight schools on the East Coast and the West Coast, most liberal parts of our country. And no one’s willing to teach a Black woman to fly, so you might have to go to France.”
That is just the start of where this story begins. Discover more in the NPR interview here.
The book is available at stores listed here.