Bessie Coleman's Legacy

January 27, 2023

Barnstormers,

As many of you know, we incubated our school for two years in portable trailers on the West Campus where The Barn now stands. Each trailer had its own name inspired by the history or mythology of flight. When the portables were hauled away, we saved their name tags in hopes that these rustic markers might someday find homes amidst the architectural richness of our permanent campus. Earlier this year, our upper school students took the lead in giving new life to two of these blue metal tags when they named their hubs Pegasus and Kitty Hawk. Our new campus store, The Hangar, also takes its name from the trailers (be sure to check out the new line of Spirit T-shirts), and our middle school students will soon extend this practice in naming their hubs.  

As some of you may also recall, one of the trailers that served as an administrative office was named in honor of Bessie Coleman (1892-1926), the first African American and Native American woman to hold a pilot’s license. “Queen Bess” was a pioneering barnstormer whose courage and commitment to civil rights opened the skies for Louise Thaden and many other aviators. Today, as we head into Black History Month, we are proud to celebrate her legacy and give her name a new place of prominence on our campus: going forward, our main office and reception area in North Hall will be known as Coleman. 

Look for the blue tag bearing her historic name. It shall serve not only as a nostalgic reminder of our trailer days but also as a continuing source of inspiration as we strive to honor our founding and foremost principle: “The diversity of a school is essential to the quality of education that it provides.” That principle is our true North. 

Together we fly.

Clayton K. Marsh
Founding Head of School