Bessie Coleman
"I
refused to take No for an answer"
- Bessie Coleman
Bessie Coleman was the first African-American to earn her pilot's license. Unable to receive flight lessons in the United States, she took French lessons at night school, saved every penny, and traveled to France. On June 15, 1921 she received her pilot's license.
In 1922 you could look over the skies of Chicago's lakefront Grant Park and see her perform. Ms. Coleman's dream to open flying schools to teach all people was cut short with her untimely death on April 30, 1926. A Memorial Fly-Over at her gravesite just outside of Chicago was started by Willa Brown in 1932 and continues to today.
The drive into O'Hare International Airport's International Terminal 5 was named after Bessie Coleman.