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Willa Brown
Willa Beatrice Brown (January 22, 1906 – July 18, 1992) was an American aviator, lobbyist, teacher, and civil rights activist. She was the first African American woman to earn a pilot's license in the United States, the first African American woman to run for the United States Congress, first African American officer in the Civil Air Patrol, and first woman in the U.S. to have both a pilot's license and an aircraft mechanic's license.
She was a lifelong advocate for gender and racial equality in the field of aviation as well as in the military. She not only lobbied the U.S. government to integrate the United States Army Air Corps and include African Americans in the Civilian Pilot Training Program (CPTP), she and Cornelius Coffey co-founded the Coffey School of Aeronautics, distinguishing it as the first private flight training academy owned and operated by African Americans in the United States. She trained hundreds of pilots, several of whom went on to become Tuskegee Airmen; the creation of the Tuskegee Airmen has been credited to Brown's training efforts.
Brown remained politically and socially active in Chicago long after the Coffey School closed in 1945. She ran in Congressional primary elections in 1946 and 1950 and taught in the Chicago Public School System until 1971, when she retired at age 65. Following her retirement, she served on the Federal Aviation Administration's Women's Advisory Committee until 1974.
Willa Beatrice Brown was born to Eric and Hallie Brown on January 22, 1906, in Glasgow, Kentucky. When she was six, her family moved to Indianapolis, Indiana, but the family soon moved to Terre Haute, Indiana. Brown graduated from Sarah Scott Junior High in 1920, and Wiley High School in 1923. She attended Indiana State Teachers College where she graduated in 1927 with a bachelor's degree. Ten years later she earned an M.B.A. from Northwestern University.
Brown taught in Gary, Indiana, at Emerson High School's Roosevelt Annex from 1927 to 1932. She then moved to Chicago, where she worked in a variety of jobs, including secretarial work, social work, and teaching. In 1934, she met John C. Robinson, who introduced her to the Challenger Air Pilots Association, a group of African American pilots.
In 1934, Brown began studying flying at Chicago's racially segregated Harlem Field. She started with lessons from Fred Schumacher, Dorothy Darby, and Colonel Robinson, and ran Brown's Lunch Room, a sandwich shop, at the airfield. She eventually trained with certified flight instructor Cornelius Coffey, an expert in the field of aviation mechanics. She was one of few women who attended Curtiss–Wright Aeronautical University where she studied aircraft maintenance and earned an aircraft mechanic's license in 1935. In that year, she helped organize a memorial flight to honor Bessie Coleman, the first internationally licensed pilot from the U.S.
Brown earned a private pilot's license in 1938 and a commercial pilot's license in 1939, becoming the first African American woman to earn either type of license in the United States. With her licenses, she worked as a pilot providing ten-minute pleasure rides for a $1 admission fee. She also joined the Challenger Air Pilots Association, the group who had initially introduced her to flying. Brown served as chair of the education committee.
Willa Brown, Cornelius Coffey and Enoch P. Waters worked together to form the National Negro Airmen Association of America, later renamed to National Airmen's Association of America which was incorporated in 1939. Their primary mission was to attract more interest in aviation, help develop a better understanding of the field of aeronautics, and increase African American participation in both fields. In the first year, Brown was elected to be the Association's national secretary. Brown later was elected president of the organization's Chicago branch, and user her position as an activist for racial equality. She also took on public relations duties for the organization, and flew to colleges and spoke on the radio to get African Americans interested in flying. One of her key advocacy efforts came via her performances in air shows, which were frequently covered by the Chicago Defender, which was also interested in desegregating aviation.
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Willa Brown
Willa Beatrice Brown (January 22, 1906 – July 18, 1992) was an American aviator, lobbyist, teacher, and civil rights activist. She was the first African American woman to earn a pilot's license in the United States, the first African American woman to run for the United States Congress, first African American officer in the Civil Air Patrol, and first woman in the U.S. to have both a pilot's license and an aircraft mechanic's license.
She was a lifelong advocate for gender and racial equality in the field of aviation as well as in the military. She not only lobbied the U.S. government to integrate the United States Army Air Corps and include African Americans in the Civilian Pilot Training Program (CPTP), she and Cornelius Coffey co-founded the Coffey School of Aeronautics, distinguishing it as the first private flight training academy owned and operated by African Americans in the United States. She trained hundreds of pilots, several of whom went on to become Tuskegee Airmen; the creation of the Tuskegee Airmen has been credited to Brown's training efforts.
Brown remained politically and socially active in Chicago long after the Coffey School closed in 1945. She ran in Congressional primary elections in 1946 and 1950 and taught in the Chicago Public School System until 1971, when she retired at age 65. Following her retirement, she served on the Federal Aviation Administration's Women's Advisory Committee until 1974.
Willa Beatrice Brown was born to Eric and Hallie Brown on January 22, 1906, in Glasgow, Kentucky. When she was six, her family moved to Indianapolis, Indiana, but the family soon moved to Terre Haute, Indiana. Brown graduated from Sarah Scott Junior High in 1920, and Wiley High School in 1923. She attended Indiana State Teachers College where she graduated in 1927 with a bachelor's degree. Ten years later she earned an M.B.A. from Northwestern University.
Brown taught in Gary, Indiana, at Emerson High School's Roosevelt Annex from 1927 to 1932. She then moved to Chicago, where she worked in a variety of jobs, including secretarial work, social work, and teaching. In 1934, she met John C. Robinson, who introduced her to the Challenger Air Pilots Association, a group of African American pilots.
In 1934, Brown began studying flying at Chicago's racially segregated Harlem Field. She started with lessons from Fred Schumacher, Dorothy Darby, and Colonel Robinson, and ran Brown's Lunch Room, a sandwich shop, at the airfield. She eventually trained with certified flight instructor Cornelius Coffey, an expert in the field of aviation mechanics. She was one of few women who attended Curtiss–Wright Aeronautical University where she studied aircraft maintenance and earned an aircraft mechanic's license in 1935. In that year, she helped organize a memorial flight to honor Bessie Coleman, the first internationally licensed pilot from the U.S.
Brown earned a private pilot's license in 1938 and a commercial pilot's license in 1939, becoming the first African American woman to earn either type of license in the United States. With her licenses, she worked as a pilot providing ten-minute pleasure rides for a $1 admission fee. She also joined the Challenger Air Pilots Association, the group who had initially introduced her to flying. Brown served as chair of the education committee.
Willa Brown, Cornelius Coffey and Enoch P. Waters worked together to form the National Negro Airmen Association of America, later renamed to National Airmen's Association of America which was incorporated in 1939. Their primary mission was to attract more interest in aviation, help develop a better understanding of the field of aeronautics, and increase African American participation in both fields. In the first year, Brown was elected to be the Association's national secretary. Brown later was elected president of the organization's Chicago branch, and user her position as an activist for racial equality. She also took on public relations duties for the organization, and flew to colleges and spoke on the radio to get African Americans interested in flying. One of her key advocacy efforts came via her performances in air shows, which were frequently covered by the Chicago Defender, which was also interested in desegregating aviation.
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