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Page 1 of 3  BESSIE COLEMAN COMES HOME
By Kathryn E. Eriksen
Did you know that the first African-American female pilot grew up in Waxahachie? And on Friday, July 6, a historical marker dedicated to her memory was unveiled at the new Freedman Memorial Park.
Bessie Coleman was just two years old when she moved with her parents and nine brothers and sisters to Waxahachie for a better life. She grew up playing on the front porch or yard of the Coleman home, located on Mustang Creek. Three more siblings were born and as Bessie grew older, she assumed more responsibilities for her brothers and sisters. At age six, she began school, walking 4 miles a day. Bessie was an outstanding math student and diligent in her schoolwork. Her days included school, housework and helping pick cotton during the cotton harvest. When Bessie turned 12, the Missionary Baptist Church accepted her as a student. She completed 8 grades of education and was still not satisfied. Bessie saved her money and enrolled in the Colored Agricultural and Normal University in Langston, Oklahoma in 1910. She had to return to Waxahachie after completing the first semester, because she ran out of money. Bessie found a job as a laundress and continued working until she left for Chicago in 1915 to stay with her brother. She wanted to “amount to something” and left her small hometown to discover what that “something” was. Bessie found work as a beautician and lived on the South Side of Chicago, where 90% of blacks lived. She continued to read avidly and learn about different subjects that interested her.
World War I started and Bessie’s two brothers left to serve their country. Both Walter and John Coleman served in France, and when they returned, they teased Bessie about French women flying airplanes and having careers. Those harmless comments caught fire in Bessie’s heart, and she decided at the age of 27 to become a pilot.
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