Bessie Coleman's Legacy

Bessie Coleman had to face many obstacles being the first African American woman aviator. According to the Patricia and Frederick Mckissack, the authors of “Women in Aviation”, Bessie had to deal with getting her education, a lack of money, and sexism. First, the story talks about how Bessie could not go to flying school because in the text the story says, “But no American instructor or flying school was willing to teach her.” (page 44) Bessie is really troubled because she could not fly without a license and she could not get one unless she goes to flying school. Second, Bessie does not have enough money to go to France because in the text the story says, “But she did not have any money to get there, and she could not speak a word of French.”

Known as the “Empress Of Blues”, Bessie Smith was said to have revolutionized the vocal end of Blues Music. She showed a lot of pride as an independent African-American woman. Her style in performance and lyrics often reflected her lifestyle. Bessie Smith was one of the first female jazz artists, and she paved the way for many musicians who followed.

Amelia Earhart was an experienced pilot. she was the first female pilot to fly across the atlantic ocean. That by itself is a very long flight for back then, but she wanted to step it up by flying across the whole world. (Crouch)

Amelia Earhart was an icon. She was a feminist. Not only a pioneer but also brave. During Amelia’s life, all the goals she had achieved were attained through pure perseverance and resilience. While Earhart had become well-known for being the first woman to fly solo across the Atlantic Ocean, she was likewise known throughout the world for her individual developments and aid in the feminist movement. She acknowledged a grander purpose in life which was the desire to live a life that surpassed beyond home and being confined in society. Her achievements in becoming an active feminist and succeeding in her dreams and goals prove her resilient courageous nature of being a woman during the 20th century despite being in a male dominant society.

She showed them that they could be equal. The only difference was the color of the skin. She taught them that that wasn’t even a big difference. She fought segregation her entire life.

Bessie Smith was the daughter of Laura and William Smith was a Part time Baptist Preacher. For smith it was hard her father pass before she could even remember Him. By the time she was nine she had lost her mother .Bessie and her brother Andrew

Bessie Vanburen was from a little town called Ashville, located in the middle of South Carolina. Although, they were poor Bessie and her husband Paul made ends meet. Their kids were the age four and six. During this century they didn’t have schools. So she home schooled both of her kids, while her husband was out looking for a well-paying job.

By most accounts, Bessie Smith was a rough, crude, violent woman. She was also one of the greatest Blues singers of the 1920s. The road that took her to the title “Empress of the Blues” was not an easy one. It was certainly not one of the romantic "rags to riches" tales that Horatio Alger made popular during her time. For a young black woman from the South the journey was anything but easy, and it would require a special kind of person, and Bessie Smith was definitely that. She was a woman who fought for what she believed in and backed down to no one. She had a boundless determination, which sometimes became a flaming hot temper, and no one was exempt from it. Yet these same experiences and temperament also expressed great loyalty to those

Unlike Langston Hughes, Maya Angelou devoted her life to inspiring African Americans to do whatever they wanted to do no matter what other people said. She also wanted to inspire people. Her poems Phenomenal Woman and Still I Rise inspired not only the African American people, which is was intended to, but the whole world including men. Like Hughes, Maya Angelou did not think that one day she would be reading one of her poems at President Clinton 's inauguration. But she did think that she would inspire young African American writers that they too could become wonderful writers in a white society. Angelou is hailed as one of the great voices of contemporary black literature and as a remarkable Renaissance woman.

Being a woman of color herself she knew firsthand the struggles African-Americans had to endure daily. For instance, in the article Ida B. Wells-Barnett (1862-1931), author Kristina Gupta spoke of a time a worker on the Chesapeake & Ohio Railroads removed Wells-Barnett from the coach section. She was then forced to ride in the colored car. Gupta also mentions a time where Ida B. Wells three friends were lynched when she went out of town(National Women's History Museum). These tragic events were meant to break Ida B. Wells and cause her to give up, but they only made her a stronger journalist.

Celebrities these days are immediately recognized, whether it be by face or name. However, they are not the only ones. There are people who have engraved their name in history because of the things they’ve achieved. The road to becoming a huge historical figure is not easy, especially if one were an African American woman growing up in the 20th century. No matter how tough the road, that didn’t stop Rosa Parks from driving on it, or should one say it didn’t stop her from staying seated on the bus driving on it.

Amelia Earhart is still honored in American culture today due to her being a pioneer for women's rights by accomplishing challenges that at the time, were deemed too difficult for women. A challenge Amelia completed, was flying across the Atlantic Ocean, but the action of Amelia flying alone, was revolutionary at the time. The iconic pilot did not last long however, due to her mysteriously disappearing in 1937. Her disappearance is still a mystery till this day which illustrates how great of an influence she had on society, since people are still curious for what happened to her and are longing for her due to her vital impact on a start towards equality between men and women.

It is time, at last, to speak the truth about the legendary blues singer. Truth is this particular jazz and blues vocalist, Bessie Smith had a soulful voice that gained her countless fans and earned her the title “Empress of the Blues”. Bessie Smith was born in Chattanooga, Tennessee to her parents William and Laura Smith. Although we are not certain on Bessie Smith’s exact birth date we are lead to believe she was born on April 15, 1894 or July 1892. Shortly after Bessie’s birth her father, a Baptist Preacher, died leaving behind his wife and seven children. Later Bessie’s mother and two brothers had died which put her in the care of her aunt along with her other siblings. During this time is when Smith began to sing, she started as a street

She wrote numerous memoirs and poems about how African American women are treated, and how they should be

She was born near Pensacola, Florida in 1910. Unfortunately, as an infant both her parents passed away; therefore, she lived with foster families. By the age of 15, she worked at a beauty salon. When she was 22 she moved to New York in which she received a really good position at a beauty salon. She would travel to Miami Beach, Florida to work at the shop they had there. In 1932, she met Floyd Bostwick Odlum, a banker. They both moved to southern-California and lived on a 100-acre ranch. He introduced her into aviation. Cochran went to training and got her license. In 1934 and 1935, she entered her first race, but soon had to drop out due to engine problems. During World War 2, Cochran was the first women to ferry a B-17 bomber to Britain, but also she recruited 25 women to fly as well. By doing this she earned the Army’s Distinguished Service Medal in 1935. (Robinson, 2000)