February 18, 2020 Willa and Bessie

The Liberty Gazette

February 18, 2020

Ely Air Lines

By Mike Ely and Linda Street-Ely

Linda: I was interviewed last week by Texas Monthly for an article about Bessie Coleman. We had written about Bessie in this column during Black History month in 2008. The first black woman in the world to earn a pilot certificate, Bessie had to first learn French, and then move to Paris (France, not Texas), to find someone who would teach her to fly. To this day, Bessie is an incredibly huge inspiration to many people. She was smart and she was unstoppable.

She had become an air show pilot and used her fame to speak out against segregation and the many injustices prevalent that held back women and anyone of color from opportunity. She spoke at churches and schools and everywhere she was welcome. Her grand plan was to open a flight school for blacks because there was nowhere in the U.S. they could go to learn to fly.

But Bessie died tragically in an aircraft accident before she could live out her dream. It would be another 12 years before this country would award a pilot certificate to the first black woman who learned to fly in the United States.

Willa Brown had a few more things in common with Bessie Coleman. She felt strongly about those same injustices, and she and her husband, Cornelius Coffey, wanted to make sure there would be a place people of color could learn to fly. Cornelius was also a pilot – in fact, he was her flight instructor – and a mechanic. Together, they founded the Cornelius Coffey School of Aeronautics, the first private flight training academy in the country which was owned and operated by black Americans. Willa herself trained hundreds of pilots, many of whom became Tuskegee Airmen.

She also lobbied the government for integration of black pilots in the U.S. Army Air Corp (predecessor to the U.S. Air Force) and in the Civilian Pilot Training Program (which provided a pool of civilian pilots during national emergencies). Like Bessie, she fought to see these opportunities open to all Americans.

These are the kind of people who inspire me. They probably had doors slammed in their faces more times than we could count. But they didn’t give up or give in to the ignorance. Instead, they set an example of what it means to be American. To work hard, to earn your way, and to innovate.

From picking cotton to being the star of the air shows, “Queen Bess” demonstrated how it’s done. A stellar life ended too soon, I think of how much more she would have accomplished. Her impact isn’t limited to opportunities for women and those with darker skin tones. She raised the mentality of an entire industry. And when the torch was passed to Willa Brown to continue Bessie’s dream, not just an entire industry has benefited, but the whole world.

Here’s to those who have faced adversity and didn’t back down. May your extraordinary lives always shine a light for us all.

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