Fly like Bessie
Leaning into community and honoring history so we don’t repeat it.
Bessie Coleman (1892 - 1926) was the first female African-American and also Native American pilot in the United States. (She got her license two years before Amelia Earhart.) I knew the name because there is a street near O’Hare International Airport that bears her name: Bessie Coleman Drive. Gigi Coleman is her grand-niece who dazzled a packed audience in character as Bessie to share stories and artifacts from her life.
As a board member of the Friends of my local library, the work we do—mostly book sales—funds special programs held at the library. Like so many others enduring the darkness in which we’re steeped, seeking community gives me comfort. Plus, I love history and learning about the past. I understand its importance and the imperative to learn from it rather than repeat it.
I’m embarrassed to say it was the first program I’d attended at the library. My other visits there involved preparing for or working at the book sale we have three times a year. I was enthralled by the event. It is not just the topic, but also the fact that my library offers so many free services to enrich the lives and minds of all the residents. Imagine that: working to educate, enrich and include.
As soon as Gigi stepped into the room after a short news video was shown, I was taken to a different place and immersed in the life of Bessie Coleman. I saw her grow up. I saw her fight against prejudice. I saw her attain her life’s dream without a single regret. And I’ve been thinking about it ever since.
She, of course, had to go to France to get a pilot’s license because no school would take a woman of color in the US at the time. But it was her passion, her dream. She not only found the money to get there, but also took classes to learn how to speak French. Can you imagine wanting something so badly that you won’t let anything stop you? It was a refreshing coat of paint on the very time we’re living in now. And like, Bessie, we won’t settle for anything less than keeping our democracy, and ensuring it’s filled with people of all colors and cultures. Diversity is a strength.
Bessie epitomizes “follow your dreams” and “don’t let anyone stand in your way” to this very day. As Americans who wake up to the horror show of our corrupt administration, those phrases are more important now than ever.
Thank you, Bessie and Gigi. Keep flying!
Gigi Coleman and I after her performance. It was really something special.