Langston University

Bessie Coleman stepped onto the wheel of her Curtiss JN-4 biplane, often called her canary, and hopped into the cockpit. Word of Queen Bess’s performance had spread like wildfire. An audience had gathered in the pasture.

The engine growled beneath her as the propeller spun quicker and quicker. Bessie eased her canary forward, the nose lifting quickly. Soon, she was among the clouds, the roar of the audience becoming a distant rumble.

Showtime.

The wind screamed in her ears as she worked her canary into a loop, watching the earth twist and spin below her. Over and over she looped into figure eights. She couldn’t hear the crowd’s cheers from so high up, but she didn’t have to hear them to know they were impressed.

Bessie continued to twist and roll in the sky with her canary. Each trick a triumph; each stunt a defiance. Every time she stepped into her plane, soared in the sky and performed for the masses was an opportunity to defy all those who had told her, “No.”

Bessie was born in a one-room cabin on Jan. 26, 1892, in Atlanta, Texas, as one of 13 children born to Susan and George Coleman. Her birth was neither recorded via birth certificate nor written in the family Bible, for her parents could not read nor write. Despite the violence and barriers of the Jim Crow era south, George purchased a small plot of land in Waxahachie, Texas, where Bessie grew up.

She began attending her racially segregated school in 1898. The one-room building held grades one through eight, with only one teacher for all grades. Bessie walked four miles to school every day and quickly developed a love for learning and a determination that she carried with her throughout the rest of her life.

Bessie always dreamed of leaving Waxahachie and briefly did when she attended the Colored Agricultural and Normal University (later named Langston University).

It was here where she learned about flying.

Although she could only afford one semester of college, that single semester sparked a lifelong passion for aviation when she read about the Wright Brothers’ first flight and the first American female pilot, Harriet Quimby.

Bessie couldn’t help but wonder what it would be like to fly like a bird.

Eventually, Bessie decided to chase her dream. Around the age of 27, she applied to nearly every American flight school but was continuously rejected because of her race and gender. When she realized that even the skies above America were segregated, she began applying to French aviation schools.

On Nov. 20, 1920, Bessie sailed from New York City to France. She spent a year applying to French flying schools, learning the language and saving up for her travels. When she arrived, she selected the Ecole d’Aviation des Frères Caudron at Le Crotoy in the Somme. After seven months of training, she took the qualifying test for a license from the renowned Federation Aeronautique Internationale (FAI), the only organization at the time whose recognition granted one the right to fly anywhere in the world. She was the first American of any race or gender to be directly awarded these credentials.

She returned to New York in September 1921 and quickly began traveling across the country, performing shows and advocating for equality. She dreamed of one day opening her own aviation academy for Black students.

In April 1926, while preparing for a show, an accident led to Bessie’s untimely death. Although she was only 34 years old, her advocacy and bravery continue to inspire generations. Bessie’s story is a testament not only to Black excellence and determination, but also to the impact education can have on an individual’s trajectory. In just one semester at Langston University, Bessie Coleman found her lifelong passion and pursued that passion across the ocean and back, and she used it to fight for the equality of others.

Langston University is proud of the legacy carried by alumni like Bessie Coleman, whose courage reshaped what was possible. Her life stands as enduring proof that access to education can ignite dreams powerful enough to challenge injustice, open doors for others and change history itself.