Willa B. Brown

(1906-1992 )

Influenced by the aviatrix Bessie Coleman, Willa Brown started taking flying lessons in 1934. Soon she became a member of the flying club, the Challenger Air Pilot's Association, and the Chicago Girls Flight Club. She also purchased her own airplane. In 1937 she received her pilot's license and that same year, she received a master's degree from Northwestern University.

Also in 1937, she co-founded the National Airmen's Association of America with her flight instructor, Cornelius R. Coffey. The Association's goal was to promote African-American aviation. In 1938, they started the Coffey School of Aeronautics, where approximately two hundred pilots were trained in the next seven years. Some of those pilots later became part of the 99th Pursuit Squadron at Tuskegee Institute, also known as the "Tuskegee Airmen".

Brown lobbied Washington for inclusion of African-Americans in the Civilian Pilot Training Program and in the Army Air Corps, and, in 1941, she became a training coordinator for the Civil Aeronautics Administration and a teacher in the Civilian Pilot Training Program. The following year, she became the first African-American member of the Civil Air Patrol. She also promoted aviation on the radio and taught it in high schools. In 1972, Brown became a member of the Women's Advisory Committee on Aviation in the Federal Aviation Agency.

Willa B. Brown died July 18, 1992.

Contributed by Danuta Bois, 1997.

Bibliography:
The Book of African-American Women: 150 Crusaders, Creators, and Uplifters by Tonya Bolden, Adams Media Corporation, 1996