Bessie Coleman

So many years ago now that it seems like a different lifetime, I volunteered as a docent at the Western Aerospace Museum at the Oakland Airport.  In 1995 we had an event for the release of a new stamp, and that's how I learned about Bessie Coleman.

Bessie is my kinda person--smart, hardworking, driven, moral, steadfast.  It's interesting enough that she went to France to become the first black American woman to earn a pilot's license, it's even better that in the early-to-mid-1920s she worked as both a lecturer and a barnstormer.  On at least one occasion, well, you've got to admire someone who's this sure of herself:

Coleman received immense support from her community. She was an inspiration to her fellow Black Americans, showing them that the sky wasn’t the limit, even in the face of a segregated world. While planning to perform in Texas, managers in charge of setting up the stadium had planned to create two separate entrances, one for Blacks and the other for whites. After hearing about this, Coleman refused to perform unless there was only one gate for everyone to use. After much back-and-forth, the managers agreed but said that the seating would still have to be segregated. Coleman agreed and gained fame for publicly standing up for her beliefs.  (link below)

She ended up dying in a flying accident: 

On April 30, 1926, Coleman and her mechanic took off for a practice flight in Jacksonville, Fla. Preparing for an upcoming performance, Coleman had not buckled her seat belt in order to be able to look over the side of the plane to scope out a good landing spot for a parachuting stunt. Cruising at 3,500 feet, the biplane accelerated and began to nosedive. It went into a tailspin and Coleman was thrown from the craft when it flipped. Her mechanic, William Wills, crashed the plane. Neither survived. Investigations revealed a loose wrench had gotten stuck in the control gears, preventing Wills from being able to right the plane. Rumors of sabotage spread, but the cause was ultimately ruled as accidental. At the same time, Congress was working with the Air Commerce Act of 1926 to help regulate pilots and their aircraft.

Her light shone bright, but only for a short time. Twenty-eight years after appearing on a US postage stamp, she will now appear on the quarter:

In 2022, the United States Mint launched its American Women Quarter program, releasing five different quarters with reverse designs depicting influential women from American history. The year 2023 continues the program, starting with the release of a quarter honoring Bessie Coleman.

The common obverse of the series depicts a portrait of George Washington, which was designed by Laura Gardin Fraser to mark Washington’s 200th birthday. “LIBERTY” is inscribed above Washington’s head and “IN GOD WE TRUST” sits behind his head. The date “2023” can also be seen under his chin.

The reverse shows Coleman suiting up for flight, looking towards the skies. A plane flies above the clouds in the background. At the bottom of the coin sits “BESSIE COLEMAN 6.15.1921,” referencing the date in which she received her international pilot’s license.

The article mentions that Dr. Mae Jamison, on her only shuttle flight, carried a picture of Bessie Coleman with her.  Class all the way.