French Lessons Before Flying Lessons
Bessie Coleman studied French, saved money, and traveled to France to learn to fly after American flying schools refused to teach her.
Play the quiz as a gameHeading: A Plan for France
Bessie Coleman wanted to fly airplanes. In the early 1900s, she lived in Chicago. She looked for a flying school in the United States. But schools would not teach her because she was a Black woman. This unfair rule blocked her dream, but she kept looking for a way to learn.
Newspaper publisher Robert Abbott encouraged her to try France. A publisher helps put out newspapers or books. In France, she could find a school that would accept her. Coleman needed money for the trip and lessons. She worked and saved money. Other people helped pay for her training, too.
She also studied French before leaving. Her teachers in France would speak French, so learning the language would help her understand their directions. In 1920, Coleman sailed across the Atlantic Ocean to France.
Heading: Learning to Fly
Coleman trained at a flying school near the town of Le Crotoy. An instructor, or teacher, showed her how to guide a plane. She practiced taking off, turning, and landing. Flying took careful work, not just a wish to be in the sky.
On June 15, 1921, she earned an international pilot's license. This document showed that she had passed flying tests. She became the first African American woman to earn a pilot's license. Her plan had worked: learn a new language, travel to a new country, and study there.
A fitting caption for a photograph of Coleman would be: “Bessie Coleman traveled to France to turn her flying dream into a skill.”