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American Airlines paid tribute to the aviation pioneer known as Brave Bessie

RACHEL MARTIN, HOST:

Good morning. I'm Rachel Martin.

Bessie Coleman was the first Black woman to hold a pilot's license. She got it in 1921. One hundred years after her first public flight in 1922, American Airlines paid tribute to the aviation pioneer known as Brave Bessie. A crew of Black women pilots, flight attendants, customer service coordinators - even a maintenance technician - operated a flight from Dallas to Phoenix in her honor. Bessie Coleman's great niece, Gigi Coleman, was on board.

It's MORNING EDITION. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.