I was recently invited to attend and moderate a panel lecture about pioneering African American aviators, which took place at the extraordinary Explorer’s Club on E. 70th Street in New York. And what a fascinating evening it was!
The invitation was initiated in early January when Lt. Col. Paul Tanghe, Ph.D., a member of the Explorers Club and on the Club’s Public Lectures Committee, asked if I would collaborate with him on developing the lecture along with the Metropolitan Airport News as a sponsor for the event.
Special guests on the panel included Gigi Coleman Brooms, the great-niece of legendary aviatrix Bessie Coleman, the first African-American woman and the first woman of Native-American descent to hold an international pilot’s license in 1921 via the Federation Aeronautique Internationale in France, as at the time, no flying school in the United States would accept her because of the color of her skin and her gender.
But Bessie would not take ‘No’ for an answer.
Gigi Coleman’s late grandmother was Bessie Coleman’s youngest sister, Georgia. Gigi’s mother is the late Marion Coleman, who in 1995 successfully petitioned the United States Postal Service for the Bessie Coleman postal stamp. In following her mother’s commitment to Bessie Coleman’s legacy, Gigi is passionate in her endeavors to inform the world about Bessie’s achievements in aviation. She tours her one-woman show, a program that she developed. She portrays the story of her Great-Aunt Bessie to challenge the minds of the young and old and encourage individuals to achieve their dreams.
Gigi Coleman attended the lecture at the Explorer’s Club via video conference from her home in St. Louis, having just returned from performing her one-woman show at the Museum of Flight in Seattle. Dressed in a period-style leather helmet and goggles, Gigi gave an animated presentation as Bessie herself and told the rapt audience of 50 the story of her great aunt’s legacy.
Also on the panel and in person at the Explorer’s Club was Ian Howe, a captain on a Boeing 737 and former chairperson for the Aerospace Professional Development Program (APDP) for the Organization of Black Aerospace Professionals (OBAP). OBAP is a non-profit organization dedicated to the encouragement and advancement of minorities in all aviation and aerospace careers. For the last 25 years, Ian Howe has mentored young licensed Airframe and Powerplant mechanics. During the lecture, he offered an inspiring look at how OBAP encourages diversity in the aviation industry by supporting aspiring aviation professionals through a series of scholarships, mentoring, training, and youth-focused education programs.
Gigi Coleman and Ian Howe’s presence and discussions and the Q&A that followed with the audience were incredibly awe-inspiring, both from a historical point of view and in the present. One of the many good things to come out of the evening is that Bessie Coleman’s legacy endures into the present day, and to honor her legacy comes the continuing push for diversity and inclusivity in aviation and beyond.
