Above & Beyond > Pioneers

Bessie Coleman  
First African American Female Pilot

Bessie always had a strong desire to better herself. She earned money from washing and ironing to attend Langston Industrial College, but soon had to drop out when the money ran out. She attended beauty school and worked as a manicurist for awhile. In 1922, Bessie Coleman received her air pilot's license from the Federation Aeronautique Internationale in France, making her the first black woman pilot. Bessie had planned to open an aviation school, but on April 30, 1926 she lost her life during an exhibition in Jacksonville, Florida.

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Dr. Aprille Ericsson-Jackson
First African-American woman to receive a Ph.D. in Mechanical Engineering from Howard University

Dr. Aprille Ericsson-Jackson is a the first African-American woman to receive a Ph.D. in Mechanical Engineering from Howard University. She received The Women in Science and Engineering Award for being the best female engineer in the federal government in 1998, a special Recognition Award at the Black Engineers Award Conference and a NASA Goddard Honor Award for Excellence in Outreach. In 1996 and 1997, she was acknowledged for being one of the Top 50 Minority Women in Science and Engineering. She is an altitude control systems analyst at the NASA Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC) where she makes sure the satellites that orbit the earth and beyond follow the correct trajectory.

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Mae Jemison
First African American Female Astronaut

Dr. Mae C. Jemison is the world's first African American female astronaut. While working as a general practitioner in Los Angeles, California, NASA selected her and 14 others for astronaut training.  Dr. Jemison completed her training as a mission specialist with NASA in 1988. She became first African American female astronaut in 1992 on the space shuttle flight the Endeavor. In 1993, Dr. Jemison resigned from NASA and founded the Jemison Group, Inc. Among her current projects are several that focus on improving healthcare in Africa. Dr. Jemison is also a professor of environmental studies at Dartmouth College.

Celebrating HerStory!

March is Women History Month. AA KultureZone celebrates women of color 365 days a year!

Take a walk through the garden to view more women.