Before “Top Gun” and its blockbuster sequel, before “The Tuskegee Airmen” and “Red Tails” films, there were aviators and heroes like Bessie Coleman, the first African-American woman to earn a pilot’s license in 1921. Coleman studied at an aviation school in France because none of the aviation schools in the U.S. would accept her because she was Black.

Coleman, a woman of African-American and Native American heritage, was born in Texas, but moved to Chicago during the Great Migration and lived there for several years.

The Chicago Southland Chamber of Commerce and its partners will honor Coleman on May 2 with an aviation film festival at Bult Field in Monee. 

“Queen Bess,” the Bessie Coleman Centennial Aviation Film Festival will be the culminating event of a weeklong celebration of Coleman’s life, which ended tragically in an accident in 1926, said Jennel Hooper, executive director of the Chicago Southland Chamber of Commerce.

“Bult Field is a gateway to the Chicago Southland and to the spirit of innovation that has always defined this region. Hosting an aviation film festival here brings together our rich aerospace history, our growing aviation assets, and our creative community in a way that showcases the Chicago Southland as a place where stories take flight — on the screen and in the sky,” Hooper said.

The free event, which will run from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m., will feature aviation-themed films, STEM activities, a presentation by the Tuskegee Airmen, tech demonstrations, flyovers and more, Hooper said. Everyone is welcome to attend — students, families, aviation enthusiasts and film lovers.

“We want any and everyone who has a connection to aviation or aerospace technology to be represented,” Hooper said.

The weeklong celebration kicks off on April 25 and will include a variety of events and exhibits. For example, DuSable Museum, a celebration partner, offers an ongoing exhibit dedicated to Coleman. 

The idea for the film festival started with three partners, but it soon grew to include more. 

Former U.S. Air Force Capt. Daniel Sloat, a pilot and founder of Advanced Air Mobility Institute, shared his idea to do a film festival with Hooper. But he knew he wasn’t a filmmaker, she remembers. Enter filmmaker Susan Musacchio of Aviatric Company, a third-generation aviator and a member of The 99, an all-female pilot group, Hooper said. Mussachio also wanted to do a film festival and reached out to the chamber.

Hooper immediately saw an opportunity for Sloat, Musacchio and the chamber to partner, which they did. The three partners got to work, but it didn’t stop there.

Hooper, who meets with a group of like-minded individuals about the importance of a third airport in the Southland, told members about the film festival and more partners joined, Hooper said.

Meanwhile, Musacchio got to tour Bult Field and fell in love with the space, which features a museum and a theater space to show films. Hooper said she immediately reached out to the folks at Bult Field after that and they were in, too. 

Mark Thompson, a senior consultant at Bult Field, then introduced Hooper to Kenneth Rapier, president of the Dodo Bird Chapter of the Tuskegee Airmen. The Tuskegee Airmen then joined the group.

What happened next was a true “six degrees of separation” moment. Rapier introduced Hooper to his friend Gigi Coleman, who happens to be the great niece of Bessie Coleman, Hooper said. Coleman is also the founder of the Bessie Coleman Aviation All-Stars. She travels around the country doing a one-woman show about her aunt’s life.

“She’s keeping Bessie Coleman’s legacy alive,” Hooper said. 

Coleman became a part of the team honoring her aunt. 

Hooper said she was in awe of “the divine connections that were happening and continuing to happen” with the project. For example, events to honor Coleman are in the works in Tulsa, Oklahoma; Jacksonville, Florida; and Los Angeles, all places where Coleman either lived or flew.

One of the films that will be shown at the film festival is “Discovering Bessie Coleman,” a documentary by Capt. Beth Powell, Hooper said. Powell also wrote a book about Coleman called “Queen of the Skies: The Inspiring Story of Bessie Coleman.” She will be doing a book signing at the film festival.

Hooper said that the committee is still accepting submissions for the film festival. To submit, visit Filmfreeway.com/BessieColemanAviationFilmFestival. 

Awards will be presented at the film festival, Hooper said. Categories include: 

• The Bessie Coleman Centennial Award, for films that embody her pioneer spirit,
• Best Aviation Feature Film, celebrating long form storytelling;
• Best Aviation Short Film, recognizing creative and concise narratives;
• Best Drone Film, showcasing innovative aerial cinematography; and
• Best Aviation Experimental Film, which pushes boundaries in aviation storytelling.

The nine founding partners for the film festival include the Chicago Southland Chamber of Commerce, Aviatrix, Advance Air Mobility Institute, Vertiport Chicago, The Tuskegee Airmen, the Bessie Coleman All-Stars, AeroStar Avion Institute and Queen Bee Production.

Want to go: Queen Bess: The Bessie Coleman Centennial Aviation Film Festival will be held from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. May 2 at Bult Field, 28261 S. Kedzie Ave., Monee.

Who Was Bessie Coleman?

Bessie Coleman, who was born in Texas in 1892, studied briefly at Langston Industrial College in Tulsa, Oklahoma, until she could no longer afford it. 

She moved to Chicago during the Great Migration, became a manicurist and got married.

Coleman decided she wanted to be a pilot after hearing her brothers’ stories about the women pilots they saw during the war when they were stationed in France. 

Coleman applied to flight schools in the U.S. but none of them would accept her. It didn’t stop her. At the advice and encouragement of Robert Abbott, editor and publisher of the Chicago Weekly Defender, Coleman learned French, went to France and studied at a flight school there. 

She earned her pilot’s license in 1921. She also trained with World War I pilots in France and Germany to become an even better pilot. 

Coleman made the first public flight by an African-American woman in the United States on Sept. 3, 1922, in Long Island, New York, according to the Smithsonian American Women’s History Museum website.

Coleman flew for several years as a stunt pilot, did shows, lectured and showed films of her flights. She also spoke out against the racism of the day. 

Coleman died in a tragic flight accident in 1926. She is remembered for her accomplishments as a pilot, her speeches, achievements and her stance against racism.

In 1995, a postage stamp bearing her likeness was issued. And in 2023, her likeness was printed on a quarter as part of the American Women’s Quarter’s program, according to the Smithsonian American Women’s History Museum.