History Book Festival Featured Author Carole Hopson

A Pair of Wings: A Novel
Henry Holt & Co., 2024

This novel was inspired by Bessie Coleman, a Black woman who learned to fly at the dawn of aviation and found freedom in the air. Bessie’s fascination with flight began when an airplane buzzed overhead as she worked in a Texas cotton field, a few years after the Wright brothers’ first flight. Moving to Chicago, she won the backing of wealthy, powerful Black men, but her true love remained flying. In 1920, no one in the U.S. would teach a Black woman to fly, so Bessie learned to speak French and set off for Europe. Two years ahead of Amelia Earhart, she earned her pilot’s license.

This event is presented in partnership with Southern Delaware Alliance for Racial Justice (SDARJ).