Willa Beatrice Brown was a Civil Rights activist, a teacher, an aviator, and a lobbyist. During the majority of her life she focused on gender and racial equality in the field of aviation and in the military. She lobbied the U.S. government to integrate the U.S. Army Air Corps to include African Americans in the Civilian Pilot Training Program. Along with co-founder, Cornelius Coffey, she founded the Coffey School of Aeronautics which was the first training academy owned and operated by African Americans. Brown was the first African American woman to earn a pilot's license in the United States. She was also the first African American woman to run for the United States Congress, first African American officer in the Civil Air Patrol, and first woman in the U.S. to have both a pilot's license and an aircraft mechanic's license.
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Church Affiliation:Westside Community Church
Role in the Movement:Willa Beatrice Brown was a Civil Rights activist, a teacher, an aviator, and a lobbyist.
Birth Place:Glasgow, KY
Born Date:January 22, 1906
Deceased Date:July 18, 1992
Place Lived as Adult:Oak Lawn, IL; Gary, IN; Terre Haute, IN; Chicago, IL
Church Location:Chicago, IL