Sherri L. Smith and Elizabeth Wein-AMERICAN WINGS
Sherri L. Smith, author of the critically acclaimed story\xa0Flygirl,\xa0and Elizabeth Wein, author of the award-winning book\xa0Code Name Verity, join forces in\xa0AMERICAN WINGS (G.P. Putnam\u2019s Sons)\xa0to shed light on an important and lesser-known chapter in Black aviation history and Black contributions to aviation during the Golden Age of Flight.
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\nIn the years between World War I and World War II, aviation fever was everywhere, including among Black Americans. But what hope did a Black person have of learning to fly in a country constricted by prejudice and Jim Crow laws, where some previous Black aviators like Bessie Coleman had to move to France to earn their wings?
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\nAMERICAN WINGS\xa0follows a group of determined Black Americans: \xa0Cornelius Coffey and Johnny Robinson, skilled auto mechanics; Janet Harmon Bragg, a nurse; and Willa Brown, a teacher and social worker. Together, they created a flying club and built their own airfield on Chicago\u2019s South Side. As the U.S. hurtled toward World War II, they established a school to train new pilots, teaching both Black and white students together and proving, in a time when the U.S. military was still segregated, that successful integration was possible.
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\nComplete with black-and-white photographs throughout,\xa0AMERICAN WINGS\xa0brings to light a hidden history of pioneering Black men and women who, with grit and resilience, battled powerful odds for an equal share of the sky.
\n\n\nABOUT THE ELIZABETH WEIN:\xa0Elizabeth Wein (LEFT) is a recreational pilot and the owner of about a thousand maps. She is the author of the #1\xa0New York Times\xa0bestseller Code Name Verity, as well as the novels Rose Under Fire; Black Dove, White Raven; The Pearl Thief; and The Enigma Game; as well as the nonfiction book A Thousand Sisters: The Heroic Airwomen of the Soviet Union in World War II. Visit her online at elizabethwein.com.
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\nABOUT THE SHERRI L SMITH:\xa0Sherri L. Smith (RIGHT) is the author of several novels for young adults, including the critically acclaimed The Blossom and the Firefly, Flygirl, Orleans, and Pasadena, as well as the middle-grade novel The Toymaker\u2019s Apprentice. Visit her online at sherrilsmith.com
\nFor more info on the book click HERE
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