A Pair of Wings

An airline captain crafts a riveting, adventurous novel inspired by the remarkable true life of pioneer aviatrix Bessie Coleman, a Black woman who learned to fly at the dawn of aviation and found freedom in the air. The daughter of a woman born into slavery, Bessie answers the call of the Great Migration, moving to Chicago, where she wins the backing of two wealthy, powerful Black men--Robert Abbott, creator and publisher of the Chicago Defender, and Jesse Binga, the founder of Chicago's first Black bank. While she finds no prejudice in the air, Bessie wrestles with other challenges on the ground. A plane crash nearly kills her, her brothers seem to be crumbling under the weight of Jim Crow, and, while grappling with tough truths about Binga, Bessie begins to wonder if the freedom she finds in the sky means she must otherwise fly solo.