Happy Anniversary Bessie!

This week, on Nov 3rd, 2022 was the 101st Anniversary of Bessie Coleman obtaining her Pilot License

This shy girl, with a somewhat innocent smile, is a hero.

A real-life hero.

Bessie Gescheit, however…. - (my youngest daughter) is 11 years old. And she is sweet and loving and…named after Bessie Coleman.

We wanted our Bessie to always remember that everything is possible. And every dream is achievable once we put our mind, time and effort into it. And Bessie Coleman was all that and then some.

Bessie Coleman’s resiliency, “can do” attitude and passion for her craft attracted my attention and curiosity. So I went ahead and study the lady.

Bessie was one of 13 brothers and sisters, growing up in Waxahachie, Texas (30 miles south of Dallas). Her parents were of Native American and African American descent. She was half Indian, half black to say it bluntly, living in a midst of the segregation era.

In 1901, When Bessie was 8 years old, her father decided to move back to Oklahoma to try to escape discrimination. Bessie’s mother decided not to go with him. Instead, the rest of the family stayed in Waxahachie, Texas. Bessie grew up helping her mother pick cotton and wash laundry to earn extra money. And that was even prior to the “Pick a Bale Of Cotton” song being written. At 18 years of age, she saved enough money to attend the Colored Agricultural and Normal University (now Langston University) in Langston, Oklahoma. Unfortunately, she dropped out of college after only one semester because she could not afford to stay in school. And we can relate as some of us faced a similar situation in one way or another.

Coming home to Waxahachie, Texas, Bessie was still dreaming big. A few years later she moved to Chicago with 2 of her brothers. She went to the Burnham School of Beauty Culture in 1915 and became a manicurist in a local barbershop.

Meanwhile, her brothers served in the military during World War I and came home with stories from their time in France. Her brother John teased her because French women were allowed to learn how to fly airplanes and Bessie could not. This made Bessie want to become a pilot.

She applied to many flight schools across the country, but no school would take her because she was both African American and a woman.

Also, while in Chicago, Bessie met American newspaper publisher, Journalist pioneer Robert Abbott. Mr. Abbott was the publisher of “The Defender”, (also known as “America’s Black Newspaper” and it was growing tremendously at the time. From 50,000 copies to about 200,000 readers by the early 1920s. It was said to heavily rely on the “Underground Railroad” activists for its marketing strategy.

Mr. Abbott advised Bessie to move to France where she could learn how to fly. She began taking French classes at night because her application to flight schools needed to be written in French.

Bessie Coleman is the 1st American woman to hold a Pilot License (obtained on June 15, 1921). Even before Amelia Earhart (Dec 21st, 1921). As a reminder (if needed) that is about 42 years PRIOR to MLK's speech in DC.

Bessie was before her time. She carried with her the idea of being self-sufficient and independent. She was from a family with so much history and had seen many parts of the country.

For her, it wasn’t about what society thought was right…it was what Bessie thought was right.

Her can-do attitude stayed with her through all her adversity. This is why today we are celebrating her anniversary of becoming a pilot.

John and many others at the time thought it would be IMPOSSIBLE for Bessie to accomplish anything like this. Yet, nothing stopped the shy girl from Texas from accomplishing her dream. She is not only a hero, but she is our hero!