Racism 101: Are you a Racist?

The second Black aviator to forge a breakthrough was Bessie Coleman in the 1920s. “It was unusual enough for a Negro to fly a plane, but for a Negro women to do such a thing, it came near being a miracle” - Enoch P. Waters, city editor, Chicago Defender. It may have been a near miracle that Bessie Coleman became the first African American to receive a civilian pilot’s license, but a strong willed determination and unquestioned drive lead the Texas native to pursue an endeavor which was just in its infant stage and nearly, all White.

Coleman was born in Atlanta, Texas on January 26, 1892, the 12^th of thirteen children. Within several months, Bessie, her parents. Susan and George Coleman, and other siblings moved to Waxahachie near Dallas. At the age of seven her father, who was three- fourths Choctaw Indian, one-fourth Black, moved back to Indian territory leaving Bessie’s mother to raise four daughters and a son. To support the family, Mrs. Coleman picked cotton and took in laundry. While the children assisted Mrs. Coleman in her work, she also encouraged them to learn as much as they possibly could. It was against this backdrop that Bessie became the storyteller of the family, reading books loaned from a traveling library to the family in the evenings; her unquestionable drive for knowledge had begun.