"During the 1930s a prominent black entrepreneur and pilot named William J. Powell urged blacks to acquire the skills to become pilots, mechanics, and aviation business leaders, so that they could attain economic power in the air age and break down the barriers of racism." "Powell shared his vision of black advancement in his thinly disguised 1934 autobiography, Black Wings, now reissued as Black Aviator after six decades of obscurity. Containing new photographs and historical information on Powell's life and times (1899-1942), the book chronicles the formative part of Powell's career in aviation through the fictional personality of "Bill Brown." The narrative begins with Powell's first airplane ride in Paris in 1927 (three months after Charles Lindbergh crossed the Atlantic) and then moves to Los Angeles, where he pursued his career in aviation full time." "Powell worked tirelessly to promote black awareness of aviation, recruiting Duke Ellington, Joe Louis, and other prominent figures as sponsors. Black Aviator recounts how he founded the Bessie Coleman Aero Club to promote flying within the black community, sponsored record-breaking flights, and organized air shows. Powell provides vivid portrayals of early black pilots such as Hubert Fauntleroy Julian, James Herman Banning, and C. Alfred Anderson." "Based on real events and individuals, Bill Brown's story describes how black pilots first broke into aviation in the Depression years. An introductory essay by Von Hardesty places Powell's life and work in the larger context of American social history."--BOOK JACKET.Title Summary field provided by Blackwell North America, Inc. All Rights Reserved

Here is the brief but intense life of Bessie Coleman, America's first African American woman aviator. Born in 1892 in Atlanta, Texas, she became known as “Queen Bess,” a barnstormer and flying-circus performer who defied the strictures of race, sex, and society in pursuit of a dream.

"The first African American woman to earn a full commercial pilot's license, Janet Harmon Bragg led a life of multifaceted achievement. Not only a pioneering aviator but also a successful businesswomen, she owned and operated two nursing homes on Chicago's South Side for nearly three decades and traveled extensively in Africa". -- Back cover.

"Sandler does a fine job of emphasizing the unjustness of the segregation policy as well as the excellence of the men who flew in segregated skies. He provides a good look at this lesser known aspect of (World War II).--"Retired Officer". 38 photos.

Inspired by soldiers returning from World War I, Bessie Coleman decided to become a pilot, but in 1916 American flight schools did not admit women. This book examines the challenging times and amazing accomplishments of Coleman on her journey to not only become the first woman of African American and Native American descent to earn an international aviation pilot's license, but also a successful civilian pilot and famous stunt flyer.

When she was growing up in Waxahachie, Texas, in the early 1900s, young Bessie Coleman had to do without a lot of things. Because she was black, she went to inferior schools. Because her mother worked to support the family, Bessie often had to stay at home to watch her younger sisters. But Bessie Coleman always knew she would make something of her life. In 1920 she became the first African-American woman to fly an airplane. Struggling against prejudice and lack of funds, Coleman built a career as a barn-storming pilot in the 1920s. Although she did not live to realize her dream of opening a school for black aviators, she was--by her example--a source of inspiration to generations of flyers, dreamers, and achievers to come.

A biography of the first licensed female African American pilot.

SCIENCE/MATHEMATICS

The uplifting autobiography of a remarkable aviator who was the first African American and first double amputee licensed as a racing pilot In 1926, a young Neal Loving saw a de Havilland DH-4 biplane that propelled his dreams of taking to the sky. Loving’s Love is the inspiring autobiography about his journey to get there. Only a recent high school graduate when he built his first full-size flying machine at a time when most flying schools, airports, and aviation jobs excluded African Americans, Loving went on to design and fly five aircraft, open an aviation school, and become the first African American to be licensed as a racing pilot. Loving faced no small number of obstacles. Barred by racist gatekeeping from serving in the Civil Air Patrol during World War II, Loving and a friend created an all-Black squadron to serve their country. And despite undergoing a double leg amputation after a glider crash, Loving shares his story with unflinching optimism. He got fitted with wooden prosthetic legs and was back to flying just two years after his accident. The book offers readers an intimate and engaging look at Loving's career, with a focus on his WR-1 Loving’s Love, a single seat, midget racer he built in 1950 that won him the 1954 Most Outstanding Design award from the Experimental Aircraft Association. At 40 years old, Loving enrolled as an aeronautical engineering student and after graduating spent the next 20 years as a civilian specialist for the Air Force. After retiring, he continued flying for almost a decade. Neal Loving experienced a lifetime of thrills and challenges, and Loving’s Love captures the candid life story of a courageous man who defied the odds again and again.