Zone1 American Airlines All Black Female Crew Honors Bessie Coleman, The First African American Woman to Earn a Pilot's License

[NewsVine_Mariyam]

This is a subject that is near and dear to my heart for many reasons. Although I chose to pursue a different career I did solo.

Bessie Coleman, first African American woman to earn a pilot's license, honored by All-Black, female airline crew​

By Kris Van Cleave​

August 17, 2022 / 7:17 PM / CBS News​

Phoenix — An American Airlines flight recently made history when, for the first time in the carrier's 96-year existence, everyone involved from the ramp to the gate to the cockpit and cabin were all Black women.​

​

The recent flight from Phoenix to Dallas celebrated the 100th anniversary of Bessie Coleman, the first African American woman to earn a pilot's license.​

​

Coleman had to learn to fly in France because it wasn't an option in the U.S. She then became a renowned stunt pilot before losing her life in a plane crash in 1926.​

​

Her great niece, Gigi Coleman, was on the celebration flight.​

​

"I think she would've been really amazed and in awe. I was in awe, and this is 2022," said Gigi Coleman, who runs Bessie Coleman Aviation All-Stars, an after-school program aimed at inspiring kids, especially young people of color, to take flight.​

​

"My great-aunt received her license two years before Amelia Earhart," she said. "She wasn't in the history books. No one knew about her."​

​

There are fewer than 150 Black women airline pilots in the U.S., according to Sisters of the Skies, an organization of Black women airline pilots. American Airlines 737 Captain Beth Powell is one of them.​

​

"I've never had an all-Black female flight crew in my entire career," Powell said. "Representation is so important today, because when you see someone in yourself, you know it's possible. 'I can do this, too.'"​

 

[fncceo]

Keep 'em flying...

 

[DGS49]

Good for her. She accomplished what she wanted in spite of hurdles that would have stopped almost anyone else.

 

[candycorn]

This is a subject that is near and dear to my heart for many reasons. Although I chose to pursue a different career I did solo.

Bessie Coleman, first African American woman to earn a pilot's license, honored by All-Black, female airline crew​

​

By Kris Van Cleave​

​

August 17, 2022 / 7:17 PM / CBS News​

​

Phoenix — An American Airlines flight recently made history when, for the first time in the carrier's 96-year existence, everyone involved from the ramp to the gate to the cockpit and cabin were all Black women.​

​

The recent flight from Phoenix to Dallas celebrated the 100th anniversary of Bessie Coleman, the first African American woman to earn a pilot's license.​

​

Coleman had to learn to fly in France because it wasn't an option in the U.S. She then became a renowned stunt pilot before losing her life in a plane crash in 1926.​

​

Her great niece, Gigi Coleman, was on the celebration flight.​

​

"I think she would've been really amazed and in awe. I was in awe, and this is 2022," said Gigi Coleman, who runs Bessie Coleman Aviation All-Stars, an after-school program aimed at inspiring kids, especially young people of color, to take flight.​

​

"My great-aunt received her license two years before Amelia Earhart," she said. "She wasn't in the history books. No one knew about her."​

​

There are fewer than 150 Black women airline pilots in the U.S., according to Sisters of the Skies, an organization of Black women airline pilots. American Airlines 737 Captain Beth Powell is one of them.​

​

"I've never had an all-Black female flight crew in my entire career," Powell said. "Representation is so important today, because when you see someone in yourself, you know it's possible. 'I can do this, too.'"​

Good to see.

 

[okfine]

I wanted to fly off jumps.

 

[IM2]

Good for her. She accomplished what she wanted in spite of hurdles that would have stopped almost anyone else.

The hurdles should not exist.

 

[IM2]

This is a subject that is near and dear to my heart for many reasons. Although I chose to pursue a different career I did solo.

Bessie Coleman, first African American woman to earn a pilot's license, honored by All-Black, female airline crew​

​

By Kris Van Cleave​

​

August 17, 2022 / 7:17 PM / CBS News​

​

Phoenix — An American Airlines flight recently made history when, for the first time in the carrier's 96-year existence, everyone involved from the ramp to the gate to the cockpit and cabin were all Black women.​

​

The recent flight from Phoenix to Dallas celebrated the 100th anniversary of Bessie Coleman, the first African American woman to earn a pilot's license.​

​

Coleman had to learn to fly in France because it wasn't an option in the U.S. She then became a renowned stunt pilot before losing her life in a plane crash in 1926.​

​

Her great niece, Gigi Coleman, was on the celebration flight.​

​

"I think she would've been really amazed and in awe. I was in awe, and this is 2022," said Gigi Coleman, who runs Bessie Coleman Aviation All-Stars, an after-school program aimed at inspiring kids, especially young people of color, to take flight.​

​

"My great-aunt received her license two years before Amelia Earhart," she said. "She wasn't in the history books. No one knew about her."​

​

There are fewer than 150 Black women airline pilots in the U.S., according to Sisters of the Skies, an organization of Black women airline pilots. American Airlines 737 Captain Beth Powell is one of them.​

​

"I've never had an all-Black female flight crew in my entire career," Powell said. "Representation is so important today, because when you see someone in yourself, you know it's possible. 'I can do this, too.'"​

This is awesome.

 

[lg325]

She was from my home state of Florida. She is an inspirational figure for anyone who faces walls to get over to get what they want. She died young but lived life on her terms.

 

[Yarddog]

This is a subject that is near and dear to my heart for many reasons. Although I chose to pursue a different career I did solo.

Bessie Coleman, first African American woman to earn a pilot's license, honored by All-Black, female airline crew​

​

By Kris Van Cleave​

​

August 17, 2022 / 7:17 PM / CBS News​

​

Phoenix — An American Airlines flight recently made history when, for the first time in the carrier's 96-year existence, everyone involved from the ramp to the gate to the cockpit and cabin were all Black women.​

​

The recent flight from Phoenix to Dallas celebrated the 100th anniversary of Bessie Coleman, the first African American woman to earn a pilot's license.​

​

Coleman had to learn to fly in France because it wasn't an option in the U.S. She then became a renowned stunt pilot before losing her life in a plane crash in 1926.​

​

Her great niece, Gigi Coleman, was on the celebration flight.​

​

"I think she would've been really amazed and in awe. I was in awe, and this is 2022," said Gigi Coleman, who runs Bessie Coleman Aviation All-Stars, an after-school program aimed at inspiring kids, especially young people of color, to take flight.​

​

"My great-aunt received her license two years before Amelia Earhart," she said. "She wasn't in the history books. No one knew about her."​

​

There are fewer than 150 Black women airline pilots in the U.S., according to Sisters of the Skies, an organization of Black women airline pilots. American Airlines 737 Captain Beth Powell is one of them.​

​

"I've never had an all-Black female flight crew in my entire career," Powell said. "Representation is so important today, because when you see someone in yourself, you know it's possible. 'I can do this, too.'"​

too bad she didnt fly longer... she probably WOULD have made more of a name for herself

 

[IM2]

She was from my home state of Florida. She is an inspirational figure for anyone who faces walls to get over to get what they want. She died young but lived life on her terms.

True, but the point is that those particular walls should not exist.

 

[AZrailwhale]

True, but the point is that those particular walls should not exist.

Despite being rich and white Amelia Erheart faced many of the same walls. And that was a hundred years ago, despite your constant protestations, they no longer exist. If they did you’d have been locked up for your attitudes long ago. And you couldn’t be as successful as you claim to be if they still existed.

 

[westwall]

True, but the point is that those particular walls should not exist.

And little girl her managed to succeed in spite of them. And back then the technology was the biggest challenge. Aviation was so new that anyone who had the money, and the courage, could fly.

Everyone figured if you were dumb enough to go up in one of those contraptions then have at it.

Flight schools were limited, they had no female or black admissions. Were she better connected she could have found an instructor to teach her privately, as it was she travelled to France for her flight training.

Her death was tragic, and pointless. The Jenny she was flying in was newly bought, and her mechanic, and her family told her not to go up in it due to poor maintenance.

She insisted and both she and her mechanic/pilot died as a result.

 

[SweetSue92]

This is a subject that is near and dear to my heart for many reasons. Although I chose to pursue a different career I did solo.

Bessie Coleman, first African American woman to earn a pilot's license, honored by All-Black, female airline crew​

​

By Kris Van Cleave​

​

August 17, 2022 / 7:17 PM / CBS News​

​

Phoenix — An American Airlines flight recently made history when, for the first time in the carrier's 96-year existence, everyone involved from the ramp to the gate to the cockpit and cabin were all Black women.​

​

The recent flight from Phoenix to Dallas celebrated the 100th anniversary of Bessie Coleman, the first African American woman to earn a pilot's license.​

​

Coleman had to learn to fly in France because it wasn't an option in the U.S. She then became a renowned stunt pilot before losing her life in a plane crash in 1926.​

​

Her great niece, Gigi Coleman, was on the celebration flight.​

​

"I think she would've been really amazed and in awe. I was in awe, and this is 2022," said Gigi Coleman, who runs Bessie Coleman Aviation All-Stars, an after-school program aimed at inspiring kids, especially young people of color, to take flight.​

​

"My great-aunt received her license two years before Amelia Earhart," she said. "She wasn't in the history books. No one knew about her."​

​

There are fewer than 150 Black women airline pilots in the U.S., according to Sisters of the Skies, an organization of Black women airline pilots. American Airlines 737 Captain Beth Powell is one of them.​

​

"I've never had an all-Black female flight crew in my entire career," Powell said. "Representation is so important today, because when you see someone in yourself, you know it's possible. 'I can do this, too.'"​

This is really cool and the kind of thing not only we need to see as a nation but the kind of stories that are great to see in schools. CRT is "you can't do this because..." whereas stories like this, as the Black pilot said, are "I did this, and you can too". Which is always a message we want to give ALL our students.

Thanks for sharing this.

 

[IM2]

And little girl her managed to succeed in spite of them. And back then the technology was the biggest challenge. Aviation was so new that anyone who had the money, and the courage, could fly. There were no racial, or gender impediments back then.

Everyone figured if you were dumb enough to go up in one of those contraptions then have at it.

Those obstacles should never have existed. Period. And back then race and sex was the biggest challenge for opportunity. There were indeed race and gender impediments.

 

[IM2]

This is really cool and the kind of thing not only we need to see as a nation but the kind of stories that are great to see in schools. CRT is "you can't do this because..." whereas stories like this, as the Black pilot said, are "I did this, and you can too". Which is always a message we want to give ALL our students.

Thanks for sharing this.

No, that's not CRT and the fact of being black is telling each other that even as barriers are put up trying to stop us. What we need as a nation is to face the truth and make attempts to reconcile the damage. Because running up against artificial obstacles time after time wears people out.

 

[IM2]

LOL - Do you mean like fitting their fat ass into the cockpit seat or being able to walk around outside the aircraft doing pre-flight safety checks? What about being able to quickly do calculations when the computer shuts down?

No.

 

[NewsVine_Mariyam]

LOL - Do you mean like fitting their fat ass into the cockpit seat or being able to walk around outside the aircraft doing pre-flight safety checks? What about being able to quickly do calculations when the flight computer shuts down?

We're not talking about flying chicken hawks

 

[westwall]

Those obstacles should never have existed. Period. And back then race and sex was the biggest challenge for opportunity. There were indeed race and gender impediments.

Not if you were known to the flight community. Had she hung out at the airports in her spare time, what little she had, she would have found someone.

And the biggest impediment was money.
She worked two jobs to afford her flight school.

That is dedication. I had to work a job while I was in college to pay for my flight training.

There are impediments to everything that is worth doing. That's why not every one does those things. That is what made her an exceptional person.

 

[IM2]

Not if you were known to the flight community. Had she hung out at the airports in her spare time, what little she had, she would have found someone.

And the biggest impediment was money.
She worked two jobs to afford her flight school.

That is dedication. I had to work a job while I was in college to pay for my flight training.

There are impediments to everything that is worth doing. That's why not every one does those things. That is what made her an exceptional person.

There are natural impediments and then there are unnecessary man made ones. As you claim to be native a,merican, you should know that.

 

[AZrailwhale]

And little girl her managed to succeed in spite of them. And back then the technology was the biggest challenge. Aviation was so new that anyone who had the money, and the courage, could fly.

Everyone figured if you were dumb enough to go up in one of those contraptions then have at it.

Flight schools were limited, they had no female or black admissions. Were she better connected she could have found an instructor to teach her privately, as it was she travelled to France for her flight training.

Her death was tragic, and pointless. The Jenny she was flying in was newly bought, and her mechanic, and her family told her not to go up in it due to poor maintenance.

She insisted and both she and her mechanic/pilot died as a result.

Much like John Denver.