Bessie Coleman was an American aviator who became the first woman of African American and Native American descent to earn a pilot’s license. She was born on January 26, 1892, in Atlanta, Texas, to parents who were sharecroppers. Coleman grew up in poverty and faced racial discrimination, which limited her opportunities.
Despite the challenges, Coleman was determined to pursue her dreams of becoming a pilot. She worked odd jobs to save money for flying lessons and eventually moved to France to earn her pilot’s license, as no aviation school in the United States would accept her due to her race and gender. In 1921, she became the first African American woman to earn an international pilot’s license from the Fédération Aeronautique International.
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Coleman returned to the United States and began performing in airshows, performing daring stunts and inspiring other African Americans to pursue careers in aviation. She became known as “Queen Bess” and toured across the country, performing in front of large crowds.
Tragically, Coleman’s life was cut short when she died in a plane crash in 1926 during a rehearsal for an airshow. She was only 34 years old at the time of her death.
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Despite her short life, Coleman left a lasting legacy as a pioneering aviator and an inspiration for generations to come. Her determination, bravery, and dedication to her dreams continue to inspire people today.
A remarkable woman who defied prejudices and soared to great heights. Here are some meaningful quotes on prejudices by Bessie Coleman.
Famous Bessie Coleman Quotes
1. “The air is the only place free from prejudice.”
2. “Life can only be understood backward but it must be lived forwards.”
3. “The only source of knowledge is experience.”
4. “Experience is simply the name we give our mistakes.”
5. “Tell them that as soon as I can walk I am going to fly.”
6. “Ah, women. They make the highs higher and the lows more frequent.”
7. “I made my mind up to try. I tried and was successful.”
8. “As usual, there is a great woman behind every idiot.”
9. “The age of a woman doesn’t mean a thing. The best tunes are played on the oldest fiddles.”
10. “Ah, women. They make the nights higher and the lows more frequent.”
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11. “I don’t know who invented high heels, but all women owe him a lot.”
12. “A woman is like a teabag – you can’t tell how strong she is until you put her in hot water.”
13. “I thought it my duty to risk my life to learn aviation and to encourage flying among men and women of our race, who are so far behind the white race in this modern study.”
14. “I knew we had no aviators, neither men nor women, and I knew the race needed to be represented along this most important line.”
15. “The air is the only place to be free from prejudices.”
16. “Experience: that most brutal of teachers. But you learn, my God do you learn.”
17. “The air is only the place free from prejudice.”
18. “If I can create a minimum of my plans and desires, there shall be no regrets.”
19. “I refused to take no for an answer.”
20. “I decided blacks should not have to experience the difficulties I had faced, so I decided to open a flying school and teach other black women to fly.”
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21. “You’ve never lived till you’ve flown.”
22. “If I can create the minimum of my plans and desires, there shall be no regrets.”
23. “I decided blacks should not have to experience the difficulties I had faced.”6. “I knew we had no aviators, neither men nor women.”
24. “The age of a woman doesn’t mean a thing.”
25. “I knew the Race needed to be represented along this most important line, so I thought it my duty to risk my life to learn aviation.”
26. “So I decided to open a flying school and teach other black women to fly.”
27. “I refused to take ‘no’ for an answer.”
28. “A woman is like a tea bag; you can’t tell how strong she is until you put her in hot water.”
29. “A man who carries a cat by the tail learns something he can learn in no other way.”
30. “The best tunes are played on the oldest fiddles.”
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31. “Life can only be understood backwards but it must be lived forwards.”
32. “The air is the only place free from prejudices.“
33. “If I can create the minimum of my plans and desires there shall be no regrets”
34. “Tell them that as soon as I can walk I’m going to fly!”