MadameNoire Featured Video

Midsection view of a male purser and a female air hostess

Source: Colorblind Images LLC / Getty

Black women are making history in the skies.

An all-Black female airline crew recently facilitated an American Airlines flight for the first time in the carrier’s 96-year existence.

The flight route was from Pheonix to Dallas and included Black women in every part of the crew “from the ramp to the gate to the cockpit and cabin,” CBS News reports.

What some may think was most remarkable about the flight was that the woman involved tributed their ride to history maker Bessie Coleman — the first Black American woman to earn a pilot’s license.

Gigi Coleman, the pilot’s great-niece, had the honor of being on American Airlines’ recent groundbreaking flight.

In addition to carrying out her ancestor’s legacy, Gigi is also the head of a Chicago-based after-school program called the Bessie Coleman Aviation All-Stars, which encourages young people of color interested in STEM to set their sights on the skies.

“I think she would’ve been really amazed and in awe. I was in awe, and this is 2022,” Gigi commented on the efforts of American Airlines’ all Black female airline crew. 

“My great-aunt received her license two years before Amelia Earhart,” she added. “She wasn’t in the history books. No one knew about her.” 

American Airlines 737 Captain Beth Powell relatedly said, “I’ve never had an all-Black female flight crew in my entire career.” 

“Representation is so important today, because when you see someone in yourself, you know it’s possible. ‘I can do this, too,'” the pilot continued.

 

Bessie Coleman’s life

Bessie Coleman was an inspiring talent. 

One of 12 siblings, she was born in 1892 of Black and Native-American descent.

Coleman’s childhood included helping her mother provide for the family by picking cotton and doing laundry, according to Women’sHistory.

After being unable to finish college due to financial constraints, Coleman moved to Chicago to live with family members at the age of 23. 

It was there that her brothers returned from duty in World War I and shared with Coleman that women in France were able to get their pilot licenses.

Inspired by the revelation, Coleman made it her mission to learn how to fly. 

However, despite her tenacity, Coleman faced many setbacks as a Black woman in America sending applications to aviation schools. 

That said, she began learning French and applied to study in France, where she was later accepted.

Her reward came when she received her international pilot license from the Fédération Aéronautique Internationale in 1921.

Setting the trend, Coleman conducted the first public flight by a Black American woman the following year.

The source reports that throughout her career, Coleman became known for doing lively tricks in the sky. 

Notably, the charm got her nicknames including “Brave Bessie,” “Queen Bess” and “The Only Race Aviatrix in the World.”

 

Tragically, the pilot and anti-segregation activist passed away after a flight went wrong in 1926.

Coleman, who wasn’t flying the plane or wearing a seatbelt, fell out of the aircraft from around 3,000 feet high.

As Women’s History detailed in its coverage, airplanes of that era didn’t have roofs or overhead protection, which would have prevented Coleman’s fall.

Ida B. Wells reportedly spearheaded the history-making pilot’s funeral in Chicago.

Below, read more about Coleman and other Black female leaders who lived up to the phrase, “Sky’s the limit!”

RELATED CONTENT: “Taking Flight: 7 Black Female Astronauts and Aviators Who Changed History”

Comment Disclaimer: Comments that contain profane or derogatory language, video links or exceed 200 words will require approval by a moderator before appearing in the comment section. XOXO-MN