Bessie Coleman

Tributes to Bessie Coleman

Atlanta, Texas Municipal Airport-Hall Miller Field (KATA)
202 Bessie Coleman Dr, Atlanta, TX 75551, Telephone: 903-932-1767, Email: FLYINJ@etex.net

Atlanta Historical Museum more
http://www.atlantatexas.org/images/city/our-city-museum-image2.jpg101 N. East Street, Atlanta, Texas - The mission of the Atlanta Historical Museum is to institute and encourage historical inquiry, to collect, preserve and exhibit material of history and to spread historical information, especially as it pertains to the City of Atlanta. The permanent exhibits include an array of local items depicting the development of commerce in Atlanta between 1850 and 1950, railroad and depot equipment, cotton processing from field to gin, military stories and artifacts, a wagon and plane for students to explore, Bessie Coleman photos and artifacts with interpretations of the Caddo culture.

Barnstormers -PBS Kids more
Barnstormers

BCAL Bessie Coleman Breakfast and Leadership Academy -more
The Bessie Coleman Aerospace Legacy (BCAL) usually presents an annual Bessie Coleman Aerospace Leadership Academy and two annual Bessie Coleman breakfasts - one with the National Black Coalition of Federal Aviation Employees (NBCFAE) and one with the Organization of Black Aerospace Professionals (OBAP)

Bessie Coleman Aero Club more
http://acelebrationofwomen.org/wp-content/uploads/2010/06/BESSIE-SCHOOL-BW00141.jpgHeavyweight boxing champion Joe Louis (second from left) visits the workshop of the Bessie Coleman Aero Club in Los Angeles in 1932. William J. Powell (right) founded the club to promote aviation in the black community. Powell was born in Kentucky in 1897 and was fascinated by flight. He was rejected by all area flight schools and the Army Air Corps because of his race, but he persevered and in 1928 was accepted at the Los Angeles School of Flight. He soon gained prominence in the Los Angeles aviation community. As a tribute to Bessie Coleman, he started the Bessie Coleman Aero Club and the Bessie Coleman Flying School in Los Angeles, both of which was focused on promoting aviation in the African American community. He did everything in his power to bring black aviation into public awareness. This included creating Bessie Coleman Aero, the nation’s first black-owned airplane building company. Powell envisioned Bessie Coleman Aero as a firm that would hire African Americans to design and build aircraft which would be flown by black pilots and serviced by African American mechanics. In 1929, Powell then took Congressman DePriest for a flight over Los Angeles. The Congressman, noting that this was the first occasion he had been in a plane piloted by an African American, endorsed Bessie Coleman Aero and urged local people to invest in the company. Two years later, on Labor Day of 1931 the Los Angeles Bessie Coleman Aero Club, under the direction of William J. Powell, sponsored the first all-black air show in U.S. history. The show drew over 15,000 attendees. Bessie Coleman Aero collapsed during the first years of the Great Depression.

Bessie Coleman Aviators Club
In April 1975, the Bessie Coleman Aviators Club, open to all women pilots, was founded by a group of African American women pilots from the Chicago area. Their mission was to bring the thrill of flight to black and minority women who are seriously interested in aviation and aerospace. Mr. Maurice Givens offered ground school free of charge to the Bessie Coleman Aviators. See Ebony May 1977 for more info... more

Bessie Coleman Coin more
http://www.dc-coin.com/ProductImages/c_0002BP_384.JPGIn 1987, Congress announced that it would issue a new US circulating $1 coin featuring a woman. Daniel Carr, founder and owner of Designs Computed, LLC, a prolific coin designer who had two of his designs used, chose Bessie Coleman as his subject because she was an early American aviator who received her pilot’s license before Amelia Earhart. However, his proposal was tied for second place in the voting. Sacagawea was the winning choice. The Bessie Coleman coin is a sought after collector’s item.
Bessie Coleman Library
731 EAST 63RD STREET CHICAGO, IL 60637 more
The plaque honoring Bessie Coleman.  BOB SELF/The Times-Union
Bessie Coleman Bronze Memorial in Jacksonville more
In 2012, a bronze plaque with Coleman’s likeness was placed at the front doors of Paxton School for Advanced Studies by members of the Bessie Coleman Aerospace Legacy and the Jacksonville Florida community. The plaque was sponsored by Embry Riddle Aeronautical University. Paxton High School sits on the site of the Paxton Airport where Bessie Coleman and William Wills took off on their fatal flight.

Bessie Coleman Middle School
1208 E. Pleasant Run Rd, Cedar Hill, TX 75104 more

Bessie Coleman Park
bessie coleman 25445 S Drexel Ave Chicago, IL 60615 - Located in the Hyde Park neighborhood, Bessie Coleman Park is a recreational destination enjoyed by park patrons and their families. This park contains a playground with swings, slides, climbing equipment, and a water spray feature for those hot summer days. Officially named Willow Park in 1973, the property was renamed as part of a Chicago Park District effort to honor the contributions of significant Chicago women in 2005.

Bessie Coleman Scholarship more
AVIATION / AEROSPACE EDUCATION FOUNDATION, INC. (AAEF) AAEF, P.O. Box 3015, Syracuse, NY 13220 -3015; 315.233.4837 - Bessie Coleman Scholarship to entering first-year students, Eugene Bullard scholarship to upper-class students. Both offer cash scholarships of $1,000 to students pursuing a degree in aviation or aviation-related field. Applicants must be full-time and preference will be given to students from the Syracuse and Central New York area, but all students are encouraged to apply. Students must have financial need and a 2.5 GPA. Deadline to apply is before July of each year.

Bessie - Coleman - Straße
Street near Frankfurt Germany airport - Bessie - Coleman - Straße 11, 60549 DR Frankfurt/Main more

Bessie Coleman Stamp more
http://i.ebayimg.com/00/s/ODg1WDY3Ng==/z/ES8AAOxywh1TD-gP/$_35.JPGIn November 1986, the late Marion Coleman, then president of the Bessie Coleman Foundation, announced an essay contest to honor Bessie Coleman, the first black woman in the United States to learn how to fly. The contest was open to Chicago-area students in grades seven through 10 who submitted a two- to three-page essay on ``Why the United States Post Office should honor Bessie Coleman by putting her picture on a postage stamp.`` Marion Coleman was Bessie Coleman’s niece and she lobbied relentlessly to honor Bessie Coleman with a U.S. postage stamp. Finally in the spring of 1995, the dream became a reality with the unveiling of a thirty-two cent stamp featuring Bessie’s pilot’s license photo.

Chicago O’Hare Airport
On 10000 Bessie Coleman Dr. Chicago, IL 60666 more

DuSable to Obama: Chicago's Black Metropolis more
tells the history of Chicago's African-American community as never before — Black Chicago is synonymous with jazz and the blues, but few know about the city's courageous black pilots who changed aviation history. When flying was still a novelty, these men and women took to the skies and in the process helped open the door for blacks to train and fly as pilots in World War II. Chicago's significant role in the black aviation movement began with two eager, young men who shared a passion for flying. In the 1920s, Cornelius Coffey and John C. Robinson met in Detroit, Michigan, where they were working as auto mechanics. Both men wanted to learn to fly and both were inspired by pioneering, Chicago aviatrix Bessie Coleman who overcame racial and sexual barriers to become a licensed pilot.

 

http://www.hiatoys.com/images/bessie/Bessie01LG.jpgFearless Fly Girl - Bessie Coleman Action Figure more
History in Action Toys wants children to see their own selves reflected in the faces of toys and to have fun imagining the infinite opportunities life holds. By creating toys based on real-life American heroes, their goal is to inspire children to dream their own superhero adventures. These inspiring action figures come with a valuable teaching guide for ages 7-12. Fearless Bessie Coleman is used to impart the following themes; Believe in and follow your dreams - even when others laugh; Do not be afraid to be the first to accomplish a goal; Life holds infinite possibilities for those willing to imagine and pursue them; Ordinary people can live super ordinary lives if they challenge themselves and strive to achieve their goals; and Overcoming adversity, in particular, poverty, racism and discrimination, can be done.

Ida Barnett-Wells Museum and “The Artist”
220 North Randolph Avenue, Holly Springs, MS 38635 “The Artist” - Jacqueline Withers is an accomplished mural artist who attends the Art Institute of Colorado. In 2010, she created and graciously donated two murals to the Ida Barnett-Wells Museum in Holly Springs, Mississippi - one of Bessie Coleman and another depicting both Bessie Coleman and Ida B Wells. “The Artist” is on the right with the blue jacket holding one of her murals with Ms. Leona Harris, the curator of the Ida B Wells Museum. more

 

Marker honors Bessie Coleman Marker honors Bessie Coleman more
Since Bessie Coleman in 1921 became the first black woman to receive her pilot’s license, she’s had the world and her former hometown in Waxahachie, Texas looking to the sky. In 2001, the Bessie Coleman official Texas historical marker was unveiled at Freedman Memorial Plaza, whole new generations will be reminded to set their goals high and follow their dreams.

 

Memories of Bessie Coleman by Marion Coleman more
This is an excerpt from an interview of Marion Coleman, Bessie Coleman’s niece for Chicago Stories: Bessie Coleman: Pilot Pioneer. Marion was very close to her Aunt Bessie. This interview provides the reader with an interesting side of Bessie Coleman and her family.

Mop Top Shop Scientist more
Ms. Jackie Johnson has created “Mop Top” a “Hip Hop” Scientist and his best friend “Lollipop" who loves sugar free lollipops, because she wants to stay healthy. This interactive website for kids features the trailblazing Bessie Coleman.

National Aviation Hall of Fame more
was founded in 1962 as an Ohio non-profit corporation in Dayton, Ohio, the home of the Wright Brothers and the “birthplace of aviation” and was chartered nationally by an act of the U. S. 88th Congress, public law 88-372 signed by President Lyndon B. Johnson. The organization continues today as a public foundation reporting annually to Congress. Dedicated to honoring individuals who have uniquely contributed to America’s rich legacy of aviation achievement—achievement generated by American ingenuity and individual acts of great vision, persistence, skill and courage, the National Aviation Hall of Fame enshrined Bessie Coleman in 2006.

National Women’s Hall of Fame more
In 1969, the women and men of Seneca Falls created the National Women’s Hall of Fame, believing that the contributions of American women deserved a permanent home in the small village where the fight for women’s rights began. The Hall is currently housed in the Helen Mosher Barben Building, in the heart of the downtown Historic District. The National Women’s Hall of Fame is the nation’s oldest membership organization dedicated to recognizing and celebrating the achievements of great American women. In 2001 Bessie Coleman was added to this esteemed group of women who continue to influence and shape the arts, athletics, business, education, government, humanities, philanthropy and science.

 

National Great Blacks Wax Museum more
1601-03 East North Avenue Baltimore, Maryland 21213. The National Great Blacks in Wax Museum is among the nation’s most dynamic cultural and educational institutions. Because it is a wax museum committed solely to the study and preservation of African American history, it is also among the most unique. Primarily, the presentation of life-size, life-like wax figures highlighting historical and contemporary personalities of African ancestry defines its uniqueness. This unique museum, the first one of wax in Baltimore, Maryland and the first wax museum of African American history in the nation, is the brainchild of Drs. Elmer and Joanne Martin.

NBCFAE Bessie Coleman Award and Scholarship more
The National Black Coalition of Federal Aviation Employees (NBCFAE) presents a Bessie Coleman award annually to a deserving member and a Bessie Coleman Scholarship to a deserving student. They also partner with BCAL with the Bessie Coleman - Eleanor Williams Breakfast.

Salute to America’s Colorful Women in Aviation more
On the last Saturday of every April pilots fly over Lincoln Cemetery in Chicago to honor “Aviation’s Pioneer Colorful Women; Bessie Coleman, Willa Beatrice Brown and Janet Harmon-Bragg.” Rufus A. Hunt Jr. (Illinois Pilot's Association Board member) coordinates this occasion and he also flies the lead plane in the formation flight. This event is sponsored by several Chicago Area Aviation organizations. The day usually begins with a special ceremony at the Bessie Coleman Branch Library, 731 E. 63rd Street, Chicago, Illinois.

PictureTeam Bessie - Air Race Classic more
"Pilot" - Joyce Parker Topeka, KS - While working at the White House, Joyce put wings to her dream of becoming a pilot and earned her private certificate in June 2003, and her instrument rating in November 2003. She is totally thrilled about the adventure she has embarked on with her co-pilot and "sistah-friend," Athina Holmes. Joyce knew she wanted to fly in the Air Race Classic and Athina was inquiring as to whether there were other women pilots interested in participating. Athina and Joyce made contact, and the rest, as they say, is history.

Picture"Co-Pilot" - Athina Holmes West Palm Beach, FL -Athina is the epitome of a "flygirl" as she spent a lot of her time flying the friendly skies as a 24-year veteran flight attendant for American Airlines. It is the many years in the industry that gave Athina the passion to pursue the most sought after seat on the airplane...The Cockpit! She took that enthusiasm and dedicated her time to achieving her private, instrument, multi-engine and commercial pilot’s licenses. She's currently an aviation adjunct professor at Florida Memorial University.

Texas Aviation Hall of Fame more
2002 Terminal Drive, Galveston, TX 77554. Confirmed by the Texas legislature and dedicated in 1997, the Texas Aviation Hall of Fame honors Texans that have contributed to the advancement of aviation, and outstanding aviation achievements within the state. On July 14, 2000, The Texas Aviation Hall of Fame Board of Directors proudly announced the selection of Bessie Coleman for induction to the Texas Aviation Hall of Fame.

http://www.cmgworldwide.com/news/wp-content/uploads/2013/01/outside-bessie-coleman-program1-272x300.jpg“The Life of Bessie Coleman” more
is an intriguing production artfully portrayed by her great-niece, Gigi Coleman. Gigi’s mother, the late Marion Coleman, successfully petitioned for the Bessie Coleman postage stamp. Like her mother, Gigi is passionate in her endeavors to inform the world about the achievements of Bessie Coleman - the first African American to earn her international pilot’s license in France and the first black woman in the world to fly an airplane. Gigi’s portrayal of this great woman will not be forgotten. Let her challenge the minds of youths and encourage them to achieve their dreams.