American Wings

By Sherri L. Smith, Elizabeth Wein

In the years between World War I and World War II, aviation fever swept the country — including among Black Americans, who faced steep barriers to earning their wings under Jim Crow-era restrictions.

American Wings follows a group of determined Black Americans: Cornelius Coffey and Johnny Robinson, skilled auto mechanics; Janet Harmon Bragg, a nurse; and Willa Brown, a teacher and social worker. Together, they created a flying club and built their own airfield south of Chicago. As the U.S. hurtled toward World War II, they established a school to train new pilots, teaching both Black and white students together and proving, in a time when the U.S. military was still segregated, that successful integration was possible. Find this and more aviation history titles at the Aviation Heritage Park store.