DOC The Masters: Golf; Money; and Power in Augusta; Georgia by Curt Sampson in History

Description

Jesse was raised in a poor but loving family and instilled with values of dignity; education; and perseverance even in the midst of deeply entrenched segregation. A star athlete and an outstanding student; Jesse turned a deaf ear to everyone who told him that he should attend a black college; or that he didn't stand a chance of becoming a Navy pilot. Undeterred; he made his way from the deep South to the campus of Ohio State University. Then; defying the wishes of his family and an unwritten rule of racial exclusion; he qualified for the Navy reserve and was accepted into the Naval Air Training School at Glenview; Illinois-the first black man to enter the program. On March 18; 1947; late morning; like a bird; like a kite; like an impossible dream; Jesse Leroy Brown was flying.While other applicants-many from upper-class backgrounds-were weeded out of the rigorous qualifying process; Jesse forged ahead; often directly in the face of shameful racism and hostile superior officers. When he arrived at the cradle of Naval aviation in Pensacola; Florida; in 1947; he knew the washout rate was high and the odds were stacked against a man openly referred to as "nigger." But Jesse Leroy Brown had lots of practice beating the odds; and now he was on his way to becoming the first black man to fly a Navy fighter and make a carrier landing. He was also on his way to becoming an American hero over the battlefields of Korea.The Flight of Jesse Leroy Brown is both a stirring story ofa man breaking historic racial barriers and a thrilling tale ofNaval carrier aviation. Award-winning author TheodoreTaylor; a master of adventure on land and sea; has written abiography that will speak to boththose who love the excite-ment of combat in the air ... and to anyone who has everdreamed the impossible dream.Jesse Leroy Brown was raised in the segregated South by a hard-working; loving family who instilled values of dignity; education; and perseverance. A star athlete and an outstanding student; he was determined to become a Navy pilot; although such a thing was unheard of for a black man in the 1940s. Undettered; he entered Ohio State University; rather than a black college; and was able to qualify for the Navy reserve and was accepted into the Naval Air Training School at Glenview; Illinois. Despite racism; and open hostility by many of his superior officers; he finally reached his goal; flying a Navy fighter plane and landing it on a carrier--the first African American ever to do so.