Bessie Coleman Goes to France to Learn to Fly

In the early 1920s Bessie Coleman, an African American woman determined to become a pilot, found every door in the United States closed to her. American flight schools refused to admit a Black woman, so Coleman learned French and traveled to France, where she could obtain the training denied to her at home.

On June 15, 1921, she earned her pilot's license from the Federation Aeronautique Internationale, becoming the first African American woman, and the first woman of Native American descent, to hold an international pilot's license. She returned to the United States as a celebrated aviator and built a career as a daring stunt and exhibition flier, earning the nickname Queen Bess.

Coleman used her fame to inspire and uplift, refusing to perform before segregated audiences and dreaming of opening a flight school for Black students. Although her life was cut short in a 1926 flying accident, her determination broke barriers and made her a lasting symbol of perseverance for generations of aviators who followed.