Bessie Coleman: podcast appearances and interviews

Elizabeth Coleman was an early American civil aviator and a trailblazer in aviation history. Born on January 26, 1892, in Texas to a family of sharecroppers, she worked in cotton fields and attended a segregated school during her childhood. She also attended one term of college at Langston University. Coleman developed an interest in flying at a young age, but faced significant barriers since African Americans, Native Americans, and women had limited opportunities for flight training in the United States. To pursue her passion, she saved money and obtained sponsorships in Chicago to attend flight school in France. She became the first African-American woman and the first Native American to hold a pilot license, earning her international pilot's license from the Fédération Aéronautique Internationale on June 15, 1921. Coleman gained fame as a high-profile pilot in dangerous air shows across the United States, earning nicknames such as