BLACK SOCIAL HISTORY
Janet Bragg
| Janet Bragg | |
|---|---|
| Born | March 24, 1907 Griffin, Georgia |
| Died | April 11, 1993 (aged 86) Blue Island, Illinois |
| Nationality | American |
| Other names | Janet Harmon |
| Occupation | Aviator |
Janet Harmon Waterford Bragg (born Jane Nettie Harmon) [1] (March 24, 1907 — April 11, 1993) was an American amateur aviator.[2] She was the first African-American woman to hold a Commercial Pilot Licence.[3]
Janet Harmon was born on March 24, 1907 in Griffin, Georgia.[1] She was the seventh child in a family with African and Cherokeeancestry.[1] Harmon attended Episcopal schools and Spelman College in Atlanta, Georgia, and qualified as a registered nurse in 1929.[4] Shortly after graduation she left Georgia for Illinois and was hired as a nurse by Wilson Hospital in Chicago.[4] She married Evans Waterford; this first marriage fell apart in two years. After the divorce Harmon continued to work as nurse, this time for practicing doctors, and attended the Loyola University.[4] In 1941–1951 she worked as a health inspector for an insurance company. In 1953 she married Sumner Bragg; together the Braggs managed nursing homes for the elderly in Chicago until their own retirement in 1972.[5]
Aviation
In 1933[6] Janet (then Waterford) enrolled at Aeronautical University, a segregated black aviation school managed by John C. Robinson and Cornelius Coffey.[4] She was the only woman in a class with 24 black men.[6] In 1934 she provided $600[7] of her own money to buy the school's first airplane, and helped in building the school's own airfield inRobbins, Illinois. In the summer she learnt flying and obtained her private pilot's license.[4] In 1943 she applied to join the Women Airforce Service Pilots program. When she went in for an interview, Ethel Sheehy, assistant to the head of WASP, denied her an interview because she was black. A few weeks later, she received a rejection letter from Jacqueline Cochran, head of WASP, for the same reason.[5] Her application to the military nurse corps was rejected, also on racial grounds.[5] She then travelled to a flight school in Tuskegee, Alabama and completed the Civilian Pilot Training Program. She was denied a pilot's license in Alabama, for being a "colored girl", but managed to receive a license at Pal-Waukee Field, Illinois.[5][6]
Bragg was involved in the inception of the National Association of American Airmen, designed to represent the nascent profession to the government.
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