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Initially, the director of the program, James C. Evans, was inclined to deny Rolls entry into the CPTP due to her gender. Due to her steady persistence, Evans eventually wrote several letters to government officials asking if one woman could join the program. Rolls was permitted to join, provided she
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While attending college at West
Virginia State College, the school introduced a Civilian Pilot Training Program (CPTP) in 1939. The school was one of only six historically Black secondary education institutions in the nation to establish one of these programs, which were federally funded. Rose Rolls
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Rose Agnes Rolls was born on March 26, 1920, to Ann
Alberta (Thornton) Rolls and Theodore Emory Rolls Sr. Growing up in Fairmont, West Virginia, Rose was introduced to flying at an early age. Visiting pilots to Fairmont would charge a dollar for a ride in their planes, and six year old Rose rode in a
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After being rejected from the
Tuskegee Airmen, Rolls returned to Fairmont to help care for her aging parents. On December 31, 1941, she married Theodore W. Cousins from Montclair, New Jersey. The couple met during their time at West Virginia State College. They had two daughters, Emorene Nicole and
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Rose faced a challenge finding employment, despite her degree and qualifications, due to her race. She taught algebra at her old high school and Bible School in Marion County, West
Virginia. She then was hired as a secretary for a city director in Fairmont, the first African American to hold a
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One requirement for a pilot's license under CPTP was to complete a solo cross-country flight using only compass and sights as guides. Rolls successfully flew from
Fairmont to Parkersburg, West Virginia in strong winds.
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position like this in
Fairmont's city government. Eventually, she was employed as a manager of medical records at the Monongahela Valley Association of Health Centers (Fairmont Clinic) until her retirement in 1999.
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Rose was inducted as an honorary member of the
Tuskegee Airmen in the 1980s. Her daughter cited her flight experience and her determination to break down racial and gender barriers as the motivation for this honor.
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Rolls received her pilot's license upon her graduation, officially becoming the first
African American woman licensed under the CPTP. After her graduation, she continued to assist with the program.
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During her training with the CPTP, Rolls learned to put the plane into a spin, land with the engine off, and fly upside down, all of which she completed successfully.
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could pass the same mental and physical exams as her male colleagues. She reportedly told the instructor, "I'll just put my hair up and you can pretend I'm a man."
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In 1941, the eleven graduates from West
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Edwards, Pamela. West
Virginia Women in World War II: The Role of Gender, Class, and Race in Shaping Wartime Volunteer Efforts.
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During the war, Rolls faced double discrimination. She was denied entry into a combat role with the Tuskegee Airmen during
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Rolls attended Dunbar High School, and was able to graduate early due to her academic ability. Rolls began her studies at
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Cousins was politically engaged and active in the community. She was a member of Marion County Democrat Women, a
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http://www.wvstateu.edu/About/History-and-Traditions/Chapters-From-Our-History.aspx
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https://textbooks.lib.wvu.edu/wvhistory/files/html/13_wv_history_reader_edwards/
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She died on July 30, 2006, at the age of 86, after a ten-year battle with
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with her father. This experience sparked a lifelong love of flying.
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Later in her life, Rose Cousins moved to her daughter's home in
259:"July 30, 2006: Aviator Rose Agnes Rolls Cousins Dies at 86"
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American aviator and honorary Tuskegee Airman (1920–2006)
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http://boards.ancestry.co.uk/surnames.rolls/173/mb.ashx
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training program for African American combat pilots in
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Deaths from Alzheimer's disease in Washington, D.C.
192:Obituary of Rose Agnes Rolls Cousins, 86, 2006,
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348:Women in the Civilian Pilot Training Program
323:Activists for African-American civil rights
219:http://www.wvencyclopedia.org/articles/1657
363:21st-century African-American sportspeople
242:“Among the Airmen a Rose – Rose Cousins:”
368:21st-century African-American sportswomen
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261:. July 30, 2015. Archived from
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62:Civilian Pilot Training Program
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163:'s most well-known aviators.
110:Women Airforce Service Pilots
217:“Rose Agnes Rolls Cousins:”
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