Bessie Coleman

Born in January 26, 1892 to Susan and George Coleman, Bessie Coleman grew up in a single parent household. She dreamed of going to college, but only completed one term due to financial crisis. When Bessie turned 23, she moved to Chicago to live with her siblings. It's here that Bessie would impact the lives of both women and the African American populace across the world. Bessie would begin to read and listen to stories of WWI, which in turn would then lead her to her future career: Aviation.

This was unheard of at that time, for a women to be a pilot. But an African American pilot? Racism was still a prominent issue at the time, so this invited a dozen tribulations for her next step. She was breaking trillions of unspoken rules. Yet Bessie Coleman persevered. She knew what she wanted, and she didn't stop until she got it. Perhaps the most interesting detail is that she was just a normal women trying to achieve her dream, not to open doors for millions of other people.

Bessie was beloved by the public and admired for the force of her will. The public called her "Queen Bess," and her flights nearly always had a crowd supporting her. On the left, there is a graph depicting women vs. men in traditionally male dominated fields. While the number of women are few, Bessie Coleman was one of the people who made it so that women could try at all.

Bessie did not sit idle; she didn't just show the world it was possible to become anything you want, but she also opened a flight school for African American women. She's quoted saying: "The air is the only place free of prejudice."

Did I mention that she learned French in order to learn how to pilot because no one would let her attend pilot school where she lived? She graduated from the best flight school in France, setting the bar high for others. She didn't go half way, she didn't just accept any school - she went to the best. She also refused to fly for audiences unless correct safety measures were taken.

As it stands, there are 124 African American pilots, and females make up 7% of the air force. Bessie Coleman died in April, 1926 and it's thanks to her and many others that today we have choice to be whatever we want. Prejudice is not yet a thing of the past, but one day it just might be.