Janet Harmon Bragg

Janet Harmon Bragg

- Born in Georgia in 1907 -

Fascinated by birds, she wished to first learn how they fly.

Her determination grew to be up in the sky.

She wished to take wing and knew she could

and that she would.

Graduating from nursing school, she moved to northern Illinois. Dressed in white with a nurse’s cap, her ebony skin glowed as she helped and comforted patients, soothing them and saving her money.

An ad seeking male pilots led her to join and lit her path to becoming a pilot. Challenges of skin color and money did not stop her. The lone woman enrolled; she funded her aviation schooling through her nursing career.

Despite the racist climate, Janet and her black male pilot associates found a way to fly with determination, networking, and Janet’s money. There were no airplanes for black people to practice in. With her nursing savings, she purchased her own plane and fuel to complete the required flight hours to earn a pilot’s license. She shared her plane with the others.

Prejudice everywhere, airports weren’t ready for black pilots. With discrimination rampant, black Americans in Robbins, near Chicago, established their own airfield and a hangar for Janet’s airplane, the first aircraft for black pilots.

Racism, danger, and money were all challenges she had to overcome to achieve her dream. After earning her pilot’s license, she served as a flight instructor and later earned her commercial pilot’s license, becoming the first African American woman to do so. Training white women who served as WASP pilots, she was denied the opportunity to serve in the war because of her black skin.

Unselfishly, she served her country as a nurse and a pilot trainer. In 1965, after 2000 hours of flying, she retired from flying. Janet Harmon Bragg returned to nursing and founded two nursing homes.

A pioneer in nursing and flying, her determination and skills lifted her high, proving her worth, sharing her nursing and pilot skills.

She flew higher than the birds.

Copyright © 2/22/2026 by Andrea O. Corwin

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A/N: This is Mikeydred’s February unofficial challenge (link at the bottom). The name Janet Harmon Bragg, at the top, is hyperlinked to a page about this female black American pilot and nurse. Just click the name and it will take you to the page which includes a photo of her.

Wikipeda: The Women Airforce Service Pilots (WASP; also Women's Army Service Pilots[2] or Women's Auxiliary Service Pilots[3]) was a civilian women pilots' organization, whose members were United States federal civil service employees. Members of WASP became trained pilots who tested aircraft, ferried aircraft and trained other pilots. Their purpose was to free male pilots for combat roles during World War II. Despite various members of the armed forces being involved in the creation of the program, the WASP and its members had no military standing.