FEBRUARY IS BLACK HISTORY MONTH.
\ nBorn in Texas and raised on a farm\, she loved school and walked four miles every day to attend a one-room all-black school through 8th grade. W orking with her mother and two sisters\, she did laundry\, cleaned homes\, and picked cotton to earn money so she could finish her education. At age 18\, she enrolled in the Oklahoma Colored Agricultural Normal University\ , but she only had enough money for one year. Traveling north to Chicago t o live with her brothers\, she heard stories from pilots returning from Wo rld War I and decided to become a pilot. After applying to three American aviation schools that refused to teach her\, this smart\, naturally gifted woman did not give up. Learning enough French to get by\, she enrolled in a French school\, the only black person in the class\, and finished the t en-month course in eight months! \;
\nIn 1921 Bessie Coleman bec ame the first African American woman to earn her pilots&rsquo\; license. N ever one to let other people define her limitations\; she travelled to Fra nce to learn to fly when American flight schools refused her because of he r race. \;In later years she shared her experiences with children\, en couraging them with the words\, "you too can fly&rdquo\;. \; \;&nb sp\; \; \; \; \; \; \; \; \; \; \; \; \;
\nPerformer: Dr. Daisy Century recalls the thrill of receiving a standing ovation for her 3rd grade recitation of The Creation and credits this as the beginning of her desire to perform. Trained as a t eacher\, Century earned a BA in Biology at Claflin College\, a master&rsqu o\;s in science education \;from South Carolina University and a PhD f rom Temple University\, also in Science Education. This naturally talented teacher and actor couples scientific methods with creative imagination in order to discover how the historical characters she interprets would resp ond to a given situation. An inspiring educator whose students have return ed year after year to thank her for the difference she has made in their l ives\, Daisy has continued to inspire through her thoroughly researched\, dramatically intense portrayals. She is a published author\, writing under the name Emily Nelson\, and is an accomplished singer.
\nAt the con
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