Growing up in the 40s, the sights and sounds of air craft were still a novelty; but it was the skywriting ad planes that captivated me the most. I was spellbound as the planes circled high, looping and diving to create slogans like “Drive Ford” and “Drink Pepsi Cola”. It was a while though, before I knew that “LS/MFT” wasn’t a real word but an acronym for
Lucky Strike Means Fine Tobacco
. Years later, during Black History Week—a week was all we had back then—I discovered that in 1922 an African American woman had been performing stunts a thousand times more daring than the skywriters! Awesome!
Fountain Pen Tales, in celebration of Women’s History Month, is spotlighting two bad-to-the-bone women. Although they’re virtually unknown today, they were audacious catalysts for change during their eras. Click below to discover Bessie Coleman, the first
civilian-licensed African-American pilot in the world and Ida B. Wells-Barnett, journalist/suffragist/civil rights activist.
The video is courtesy of the
National Aviation Hall of Fame.
