Photo Courtesy of Library of Congress
The United States Mint is featuring Bessie Coleman, the first Black woman aviator pilot, on U.S. quarters.
The Mint announced Coleman and five other prominent women: Jovita Idar, Edith Kanakaʻole, Eleanor Roosevelt, and Maria Tallchief, would be featured as part of the 2023 American Women Quarters™ Program.
The American Women Quarters Program will feature quarters “with reverse (tails) designs emblematic of the accomplishments and contributions of prominent American women. Contributions come from a wide spectrum of fields including, but not limited to, suffrage, civil rights, abolition, government, humanities, science, space, and the arts. The women honored come from ethnically, racially, and geographically diverse backgrounds. As required by the public law, no living person will be featured in the coin designs, and thus all the women honored must be deceased. According to their announcement press release, the Mint is issuing five coins with different reverse designs annually over the four-year period from 2022 through 2025.”
Past honorees include Maya Angelou and Sally Ride.
Mint Deputy Director Ventris C. Gibson is thrilled about this year’s honorees. “The range of accomplishments and experiences of these extraordinary women speak to the contributions women have always made in the history of our country. I am proud that the Mint continues to connect America through coins by honoring these pioneering women and their groundbreaking contributions to our society.”
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Coleman was born in Atlanta, Texas, on January 26, 1892, with twelve brothers and sisters. Known by several nicknames, including “Brave Bessie,” “Queen Bess,” and “The Only Race Aviatrix in the World,” Coleman worked as a manicurist in Chicago. After learning about French women being allowed to become pilots, she wanted to become a pilot with her brothers, who shared their military stories.
Although there were no places for Coleman to study in the states, she was encouraged to learn in France. Coleman was accepted at the Caudron Brothers’ School of Aviation in Le Crotoy, France. She received her international pilot’s license on June 15, 1921 from the Fédération Aéronautique Internationale.
In 1922, she performed her first public flight.
Coleman survived her first major airplane accident two years into her flight career. A few years later, Coleman’s career ended with a tragic plane crash in 1926.
But her life and legacy continued to inspire women and African Americans to reach their dreams.
Learn more about Coleman’s life and legacy: