Willa Beatrice Brown

Aviation Pioneer and Pilot-Maker

Photo courtesy the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum

As with Bessie Coleman—who was her inspiration—Willa Beatrice Brown was a pioneer in her own right, earning her pilot’s license in 1937, being the first black female to do so in the United States. Noted for being the first black American female to run for Congress, Willa also made history as the first black American officer of the official auxiliary of the United States Air Force, a federally-supported corporation known as the Civil Air Patrol (CAP).

Willa was born in Glasgow, Kentucky, in 1906, to an African American father and a mother of Native American descent. Early in life, Willa saw the importance of education, so she focused on her studies. After graduating from Wiley High School in Terre Haute, Indiana, she earned her bachelor’s at Indiana State Normal School (now Indiana State University). Her master’s degree came ten years later from Northwestern University. She taught high school in Gary, Indiana, before moving to Chicago. There she became a social worker. But being an aviator was still a fascination for Willa throughout the years. 

Tuskegee Airmen looking at maps in Tuskegee, Alabama in 1942. Photo courtesy the Afro Newspaper / Gado / Getty Images

Willa started taking flying lessons in 1934 as a sideline. Her career took a turn when she met a man named Cornelius Coffey, a certified flight instructor at a white-owned and segregated flight school. Not only did Willa train with him, but the two also co-founded a private flying academy—the Coffey School of Aeronautics—and got married. Willa soon joined two flight clubs, and eventually, she purchased a plane. Their flight school, the first black-owned and operated one in America, trained roughly 200 pilots over seven years. A 1939 government contract made it possible, and the school won the contract to train pilots in preparation for a national emergency, given it was wartime. Many of Willa’s students were members of the famed Tuskegee Airmen, part of the elite 99th Fighter Squadron known as the “Red Tails.” As a result of these efforts, Willa was instrumental in the integration of the military.

“Willa’s students became members of the famed Tuskegee Airmen, part of the elite 99th Fighter Squadron, also known as the ‘Red Tails.’”

Willa also fought for the inclusion of blacks in a pilot training program for civilians. To this end, she became a training coordinator and teacher for the Civil Aeronautics Administration and Civilian Pilot Training Program, respectively. Ten years after her first flight, Willa flew planes as an aviation enthusiast, a civilian flight instructor, and a military officer. Indeed she had many firsts, including the distinction of being the first American woman of any race to have both a mechanic’s and commercial pilot’s license. In 1939, the government cited Willa in the 76th Congressional Record for her achievements in aviation. After ending her aviation career, Willa returned to teaching in high schools, and she did so from 1962 until she retired in 1971.

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This article appears in 45 People, Places, and Events in Black History You Should Know.

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