AFRICAN-AMERICANS IN AVIATION

The first part of the tour highlights two African-American women: Bessie Coleman, (Queen Bess) whose motto was, "I refuse to take no for an answer!" and Willa Brown, the first African-American woman Civil Air Patrol Officer.

When Texas-born Bessie was denied a license in the U.S., she studied French and obtained a pilot's license in France in 1921. Brown, who admired Coleman's determination, became the first woman of color to earn a commercial pilot's license and the first to run for Congress. It was Willa Brown's establishment of the Coffey School of Aeronautics that helped fulfill Bessie Coleman's dream of a black-owned private flight school.

Also recognized for their accomplishments are the first African-Americans to fly coast-to-coast in 1932: James Herman Banning and his mechanic, Thomas Allen. The type of plane they flew, an Alexander Eaglerock, is displayed next to the men's photos.

Another exhibit, featuring the engine from a Nieuport 17 (a 1916 Gnome rotary), is mounted next to the photo of Jacques Bullard who flew with the French Air Force in World War II. A major feature of the tour is a display case honoring those who were involved in space flights: Dr. Guion Bluford, a Vietnam F-4 pilot veteran who went on to earn a Ph.D. in Aerospace Engineering and was the first African-American in space; Colonel Frederick Gregory, the first African-American mission commander; Dr. Mae Jemison, a physician and the first black woman in space; and Dr. Ron McNair, a MIT graduate with a Ph.D. in physics who was killed in the fateful launch of the Challenger in 1986.

The Black Wings tour concludes in the Alabama Aviation Hall of Fame with members Chief Anderson, who was considered the guru of the Tuskegee pilots, General B.O. Davis, Jr. who served as the Tuskegee Pilots' Commander in W.W.II and became the first African-American general in the Air Force, and General Chappie James, the first black four-star General.

February 1999 will mark the continuance of the three year legacy of the inclusion of the Tuskegee Airmen's regular appearance at the museum. This February there will also be special recognition of the Alfred Anderson/Dr. Forsythe round trip transcontinental flight of 1933.

The museum plans a series of fund-raisers for restoration of a BT-13 Valiant, a Fairchild PT-19, and to enable the museum to expand its Black Wings exhibits