10. Bessie Coleman, Aviator
Bessie Coleman was born to a low-income family of 13 children in a one-room house in Texas. As a child, she studied and learned whenever she wasn’t forced to be out picking cotton to help her family survive. As a young woman, Bessie was determined to become a pilot. However, she had to travel to Europe, as Americans wouldn’t train her. The aviator sadly died at only 26 of mechanical failure, but her aerial stunts as “Queen Bess” in airshows helped inspire young girls of color.
