Black Women Aviators Honor the Legacy of Bessie Coleman Celebrating their 10th Anniversary in France where Bessie Learnerd to Fly

Washington, DC (PRWEB) June 1, 2005

The women of the Bessie Coleman Foundation, Inc. [BCF] celebrate their 10th Anniversary by traveling to France to continue the legacy of Bessie Coleman and to honor the French flight school for teaching her to fly airplanes in 1921. Members of this organization will express their appreciation to the flight school, established by the Caudron Brothers in 1910, for welcoming Bessie Coleman, an African American woman. This is the first time a group of African American female pilots will visit the place where Bessie Coleman learned to fly.

Bessie Coleman received her license to fly on June 15, 1921, from the Federation Aeronautique International, after completing her course of study at the Ecole d'Aviation des Freres Caudron at LeCrotoy in the Somme. She was the first woman to earn an international Aviation License and the world's first licensed black aviator -- taking on this challenge two decades before the famed Tuskegee Airmen flew during World War II. She died in 1926 before realizing her goal of establishing a flight school in the USA.

In the eight decades since Bessie Coleman first flew, little progress has been made in increasing the number of African American female pilots. Today, of the over half million Americans with a pilot's license, less than 100 are African American females flying professionally.

Bessie Coleman's flight lessons were funded, in part, by Robert Abbott, who founded the Chicago Defender newspaper in 1905. One June 14th, members of the Bessie Coleman Foundation will stand with the Chicago Defender newspaper to commemorate Bessie Coleman's historic journey to France and to honor Robert Abbott for his support of Bessie Coleman. The next day, Wednesday, June 15, 2005, members, supporters and friends of the Bessie Coleman Foundation will fly to Paris to combine the celebration of the Foundation's 10th Anniversary with a public acknowledgment of their sincere gratitude and deep appreciation for the French flight school taking the historic step of teaching Bessie Coleman how to fly.

Dr. Clarence Nixon, President and CEO of the Chicago Defender, will host a press conference and offer Bo voyage to the forty plus women aviators and their supporters at the DuSable Museum of African American History, located at 740 East 56th Place in Chicago on June 14th at 1:00 p.m. With the encouragement and support of Chicago Defender Founder and Editor Robert Abbott, Bessie Coleman learned to speak French and made her initial trip from Chicago to France in 1920. While in Chicago, the Bessie Coleman Foundation, Inc. will present a series of commemorative materials and displays honoring the accomplishments of Bessie Coleman to the DuSable Museum of African American History.

The Bessie Coleman Foundation will visit Le Musée des Frères Caudron in Ville de Rue, France on Friday, June 17, 2005, to offer a gesture of gratitude for the hospitality and instruction the Caudron Brother's Flight School showed Bessie Coleman almost a century ago. A reception will be held by the Tourism Office of Ville de Rue for the Bessie Coleman Foundation and representatives from Le Musee des Freres Caudron.

The mission of the Bessie Coleman Foundation, Inc., is to help people gain access to available resources for advancement in the field of aviation as well as honor and celebrate the achievements of African Americans in the field of aviation. Amidst the declining number of Black Female pilots, the Bessie Coleman Foundation renews its commitment to keep airborne the vision of the woman for whom they are named.

Joining the foundation’s efforts are several supporting sponsors -- The Link, Incorporated, an international organization of women of African descent, The Coca-Cola Company, Lockheed Martin, Air Tran Airways and Federal Express. Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University is a special sponsor; and Delta Air Lines is our presenting sponsor.

Prior to her death in 1926, Bessie Coleman made clear that she wanted it to be easy for other African Americans to learn how to fly. This is the legacy of the Bessie Coleman Foundation.

For further information, please visit the Bessie Coleman Foundation website at http://www.bessiecolemanfoundation.org.

Contact: Bunnie Jackson-Ransom

404-505-8188 office / 404-226-8000 cell

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