Essay On Bessie Coleman

Veronica Stachowski
March 7, 2014
Research Paper

Flying is a big part of life. We use it for the injured to get them to hospitals, protecting people from criminals, tourists, we also use flying for the army and entertainment on holidays, and more. Bessie Coleman was one of these people who used flying for her own entertainment and to make people happy. Often Bessie would fight for what was right by not using violence. Bessie Coleman was the first Native American pilot. But what makes Bessie Coleman so important?
Bessie Coleman was born in a one room, dirty floor house, in Atlanta, Texas on January 26, 1892. In the year 1892, there was color discrimination, meaning that the whites believed that they were better than the colored. White people protected themselves by giving the colored no rights, so the colored people could not harm them. As Bessie said “The air is the only place free from prejudice.” (Source 1) Meaning that it is free from all the people that called Native Americans mean things and hurt them. Bessie was the tenth of thirteen children, who belonged to Susan and George Coleman. They were producers, gardeners, illiterate to read or write, and both were children of slaves. Susan and George were married for seventeen years. Gorge is a half-blood meaning that his blood is part Cherokee and African American, while Susan was just African American. When Bessie was two, she moved to Waxahachie, Texas with her family, her two older brothers and her parents. There, her parents bought a quarter acre of land and built a three room house. Later on in Waxahachie, Texas, two sisters were born and Bessie’s dad left the family to go to his family. In the meantime, Bessie’s mom, Susan went to work with Bessie’s two older...

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...shows she might have been saved. People who attended the air show on the day of her death say she was only in the air for twelve minutes and her altitude was three thousand feet. Officials later found that a tool slid into the controls panels, which made the plane flip over.
After Bessie’s death a flight school and an aerial club were named after her. She inspired many other fliers and pilots who are still inspired by her today.
People still remember Bessie Coleman today for her bravery, courage, and her leadership. Bessie showed these outstanding traits she had, by not always thinking of herself. She did not go with the flow as we say it in the year 2014. She did what she believed was right. She stood up and told the person who was in charge to let the colored or Native Americans watch her perform. That is why Bessie Coleman is important in the world.