Read & Think · People Who Dared

Brave Bessie Takes Flight

Turned away at every door in America, she learned French, sailed to France, and flew straight into history.

Name

Date

Bessie Coleman in her flying gear — the aviator who crossed an ocean to earn the pilot's license America denied her. Photo: National Air and Space Museum, public domain.

Bessie Coleman wanted to fly. But in the 1920s, every American flight school she asked said no — not because she couldn't do the work, but because she was Black and a woman. So Bessie did something bold: she learned a whole new language and crossed an ocean to chase the sky.

She was born on January 26, 1892, in Atlanta, Texas, the tenth of thirteen children. Her family were sharecroppers in Waxahachie, and young Bessie walked four miles each way to a one-room schoolhouse. She loved math and never stopped believing she was meant for something big.

At 23 she moved to Chicago and worked as a manicurist in a barbershop. There she listened to pilots trade war stories about flying over Europe, and their tales lit a fire in her. She decided she would fly too — no matter how many doors slammed in her face.

When American schools turned her away, Bessie refused to give up. She studied French at a language school in Chicago, then sailed to France in November 1920. At a French flying school she trained on wobbly early biplanes, learning dangerous loops, turns, and steep dives most pilots feared.

On June 15, 1921, she earned her international pilot's license from the Fédération Aéronautique Internationale. Bessie became the first African American woman and the first Native American woman ever to earn one — a record no one could take from her.

Back home, crowds packed fields to watch 'Queen Bess' loop and roll in old military planes. She became a daring barnstormer. But Bessie had a rule: she would not perform at segregated shows that split Black and white audiences apart. Her true dream was a flight school for Black aviators.

On April 30, 1926, Bessie died in a crash near Jacksonville, Florida, when a loose wrench jammed the plane's controls. She was only 34. Thousands of mourners came to say goodbye — but her courage kept flying, proof that a locked door is just a dare to find another way in.

Source: Facts drawn from the public historical record, primarily the Wikipedia entry "Bessie Coleman" (en.wikipedia.org).

Brave Bessie Takes FlightComprehension

Check that you read it

Fill each blank with the right word from the box.

Word bank: French · manicurist · license · barnstormer · segregated

When American flight schools refused her, Bessie learned French and sailed to Europe to train as a pilot.
In Chicago, Bessie worked as a manicurist in a barbershop while she dreamed of flying.
In 1921 Bessie earned her international pilot's license, a first for any Black woman.
Crowds cheered as Bessie looped and rolled through the sky as a daring barnstormer.
Bessie refused to fly at any show that was segregated, keeping Black and white crowds apart.

Choose the best answer

Which sentence best captures the main idea of the piece?
- A. Bessie Coleman gave up on flying once schools rejected her.
- B. Bessie Coleman refused to let prejudice stop her and became the first African American and Native American woman to earn a pilot's license.
- C. France was the only country with airplanes in the 1920s.
- D. Bessie Coleman preferred fixing planes to flying them.
Where did Bessie go to earn her pilot's license?
- A. England
- B. France
- C. Texas
- D. Chicago
Why did Bessie most likely learn French before starting flight lessons?
- A. She planned to live in Paris forever.
- B. A French flight school would train her when American ones would not.
- C. She needed French to work in a barbershop.
- D. Her family spoke only French at home.

Brave Bessie Takes FlightVocabulary

Word cross

Use what you read to fill the puzzle. Every clue is answered somewhere in the article.

1F

R

2A

N

C

E

V

3F

I

R

4T

5P

A

6Q

U

E

N

E

I

7M

A

T

H

N

X

L

O

8C

H

I

C

A

G

O

9W

R

E

N

C

H

S

T

Across

Country Bessie sailed to so she could finally train as a flyer
Bessie's proud nickname was '___ Bess'
The school subject young Bessie loved best
City where Bessie worked in a barbershop and dreamed of flying
Loose tool that jammed the controls and caused her deadly crash

Down

A flyer; Bessie hoped to open a school to train Black ones
Language Bessie studied because U.S. schools turned her away
State where Bessie was born in 1892
The kind of license Bessie was the first Black woman to earn

Brave Bessie Takes FlightCritical Thinking

Now think

There isn't one right answer here. Explain your thinking — the reasons matter more than the answer.

1 · The piece calls Bessie Coleman 'bold.' What details in the article back up that description? Point to specific evidence from the text.

For the teacherA strong answer names concrete actions — learning French, sailing to France, refusing segregated shows, flying risky stunts — and ties each one to the claim of boldness rather than just repeating the word.

2 · The article says American schools turned Bessie away because she was Black and a woman. How did that closed door end up shaping the whole path her life took? Trace the chain of events.

For the teacherA strong answer follows cause and effect — the rejection pushed her to learn French and train in France, which made her a record-setting first — and may notice that the obstacle and her response together produced her fame.

3 · Bessie refused to perform at shows that separated Black and white audiences, even though saying no cost her money and stages. Was that trade-off worth it? What would you have done, and why?

For the teacherA strong answer weighs principle against practical cost on both sides and takes a defensible position, giving reasons instead of a simple yes or no.