African-American aviator, activist, and educator Willa Brown was born January 21, 1906, in Glasgow, Kentucky. She was the first Black officer in the Civil Air Patrol (CAP).Willa Mae Brown received her bachelor of science degree in business from Indiana State Teachers College in 1927. After graduating, she taught public school in Gary, Indiana, and Chicago, Illinois, where she developed an interest in aviation.
In 1935, Brown received a master mechanics certificate from the Aeronautical University in Chicago, and three years later received a private pilot's license with a near flawless score of 96 percent. She then earned a masters' in business administration (MBA) from Northwestern University and a Civil Aeronautics Administration (CAA) ground school instructor's rating. When Brown married Cornelius Coffey, the two formed the Coffey School of Aeronautics to train African-American pilots.
Willa Brown retired in 1971 as a schoolteacher. She died of a stroke in 1992.
Reference:
Black Women in America: An Historical Encyclopedia
Darlene Clark Hine, editor
Brooklyn, New York: Carlson Publishing Inc., 1993