COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. — The Colorado Springs Pioneers Museum has teamed up with the Space Foundation to host an event that celebrates Black History Month.
The event is called Black Wings Family Day, and it's free for the public to attend. It will be held this Saturday from Noon until 3 p.m. at the Hillside Community Center on 925 Institute Street in Colorado Springs.
The celebration will feature family activities, food trucks, and a historical performance by Gigi Coleman, the great-niece of Bessie Coleman, the first woman of African American and Native American descent to earn her pilot's license in the United States according to the National Women's History Museum.
Gigi will share her aunt Bessie’s story of adversity. The performance will aim to inspire people to follow their dreams and to dream big about what they can achieve. Just like her aunt Bessie used to do.
“Because she couldn’t be trained in the United States, due to segregation and racism, she went abroad. So, she studied in France and Germany, became a licensed pilot, and came back to the U.S. to teach other African American men how to fly,” said Leah Davis Witherow, Colorado Springs Pioneers Museum curator of history.
If you cannot make it to the event, you can always visit the Colorado Springs Museum’s Annex building to see this exhibit for free. The building is open From Tues. through Sat. from 10 a.m. until 5 p.m.
These walls tell the stories of black trailblazers who have made a big impact. Furthermore, if you cannot make it to the museum, there are free virtual tours, here.
Editors Note: A previous version of this story identified Bessie Coleman as the first African American woman pilot in the world. This was incorrect.
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