Usage Conditions May ApplyUsage Conditions ApplyThere are restrictions for re-using this media. For more information, visit the Smithsonian's Terms of Use page.
IIIF provides researchers rich metadata and image viewing options for comparison of works across cultural heritage collections.
More -
https://iiif.si.eduView ManifestView in Mirador ViewerUsage Conditions May ApplyUsage Conditions ApplyThere are restrictions for re-using this media. For more information, visit the Smithsonian's Terms of Use page.
IIIF provides researchers rich metadata and image viewing options for comparison of works across cultural heritage collections.
More -
https://iiif.si.eduView ManifestView in Mirador ViewerUsage Conditions May ApplyUsage Conditions ApplyThere are restrictions for re-using this media. For more information, visit the Smithsonian's Terms of Use page.
IIIF provides researchers rich metadata and image viewing options for comparison of works across cultural heritage collections.
More -
https://iiif.si.eduView ManifestView in Mirador ViewerUsage Conditions May ApplyUsage Conditions ApplyThere are restrictions for re-using this media. For more information, visit the Smithsonian's Terms of Use page.
IIIF provides researchers rich metadata and image viewing options for comparison of works across cultural heritage collections.
More -
https://iiif.si.eduView ManifestView in Mirador ViewerUsage Conditions May ApplyUsage Conditions ApplyThere are restrictions for re-using this media. For more information, visit the Smithsonian's Terms of Use page.
IIIF provides researchers rich metadata and image viewing options for comparison of works across cultural heritage collections.
More -
https://iiif.si.eduView ManifestView in Mirador Viewer
William J. Powell published "Black Wings," a thinly veiled autobiography, in 1934 during the depths of the Great Depression. The book told the story of the first days of the Bessie Coleman Flying Club, which Powell founded in 1929 in Los Angeles. Each copy came with an advertising insert that addressed issues for African-Americans in aviation and everyday life.
Born in 1897, William J. Powell earned an engineering degree from the University of Illinois. In 1917 he enlisted in officer training school and served in a segregated unit during World War I. During the war Powell was gassed by the enemy, and he suffered health problems throughout his life from this poison gas attack.
After the war Powell opened service stations in Chicago. He became interested in aviation, but the only school that would train him was located in Los Angeles. Thus, he sold his businesses in Chicago and moved to the West Coast. After learning to fly, Powell dreamed of opening an all-black flight school.
By the 1930s Los Angeles had become an important center for black aviation. Powell organized the Bessie Coleman Aero Club to promote aviation awareness in the black community. On Labor Day 1931, the flying club sponsored the first all-black air show held in the United States, an event that attracted an estimated 15,000 spectators. Through the efforts of the Bessie Coleman School, the number of black aviators increased dramatically despite the economic hardships of the Great Depression.
William J. Powell used many methods to attract African Americans to the field of aviation. He made a film about a young man who wanted to be a flyer, and for two years he published the Craftsmen Aero-News, a monthly journal about black aviation. He offered scholarships with free technical training in aeronautics for black youth. He invited celebrities, such as jazz musician Duke Ellington and boxer Joe Louis, to lend their names-and their funds-to his cause.
Powell published Black Wings in 1934. Dedicated to Bessie Coleman, the book entreated black men and women "to fill the air with black wings." A visionary supporter of aviation, Powell urged black youth to carve out their own destiny-to become pilots, aircraft designers, and business leaders in the field of aviation.
Display Status
This object is not on display at the National Air and Space Museum. It is either on loan or in storage.
Object Details
Date
1934
Type
LITERATURE AND RESEARCH-Books (under Library)
Physical Description
Authored by William Powell, 1934 and dedicated to Bessie Coleman
Dimensions
3-D (Closed Book): 16.2 x 3.2 x 23.5cm (6 3/8 x 1 1/4 x 9 1/4 in.) Materials
paper, cardboard, ink Inventory Number
I19900236001
Credit Line
Lent by Charles N. Smallwood
Data Source
National Air and Space Museum
Restrictions & Rights
Usage conditions apply
For more information, visit the Smithsonians Terms of Use.