nd made the trek 30 miles south of Dallas to Waxahachie, Texas (Mabunda 61). There "was more or less a separate community within Waxahachie where blacks established their own religious, commercial, and social institutions," which was very common at the turn of the century (Rich 5). This move was made to lessen the effects of discrimination and to find better job opportunities, neither of which panned out. Experiencing tremendous discrimination, George Coleman decided to return to Indian Country in Oklahoma. By moving there, he told Su!
             san that "they would enjoy the full rights of citizens" (Rich 8). Her reply was that she was "neither pioneer nor squaw," so George Coleman made the move alone (Rich 8). Bessie Coleman was seven years old.
             At this point, it is easy to see that her mother had a tremendous influence on her. Wanting a better future for her family, Susan Coleman would save up any money possible to obtain books from a library wagon. She would have her children read the bible as well as attend church. "As soon as Bessie learned how to read she was assigned a reading from the Bible every night after dinner" (Rich 9). Her reading also incorporated works on African American heroes including Booker T. Washington, Paul Lawrence Dunbar, and Harriet Tubman. After reading Uncle Tom's Cabin, she announced that "I'll never be a Topsy or an Uncle Tom" (Rich 11). Susan Coleman also studied her white employers and instructed her children how to emulate them. This would only serve to help Bessie in the future.
             After completing all eight grades in Texas, Bessie moved on to the Colored Agricultural and Normal University in Langston, Oklahoma. With little money, she was forced to withdraw. She soon made a familiar journey for African Americans by moving north. The "Great Migration," was a term used to describe the vast exodus of African Americans from ...