You may have heard of Bessie Coleman, the pioneering African American pilot from Chicago. But there is much more to the history of Black aviation in this town: and the story has inspired local pilot and aircraft mechanic Umberto Ricco to offer an aviation training program, for free, at Dunbar Vocational High School on the South Side.
Dunbar was one of several city high schools that offered an aircraft mechanics track from the 1950s into the ‘90s. The program at Dunbar was created and run by Cornelius Coffey, considered by many to be one of the most influential African American aviators of all time.
