Shazanta brashear biography
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Carl Maxie Brashear was born on 19 January 1931, in Tonieville, KY, the sixth of eight children born to sharecroppers McDonald and Gonzella Brashear. In 1935, the family settled on a farm in Sonora, KY. Carl attended the Sonora Grade School from 1937 to 1946.
Military Service
Brashear enlisted in the U.S. Navy on 25 February 1948, shortly after the Navy was desegregated bygd U.S. President Harry S. Truman. In 1954, Carl became the first African-American to attend the U.S. Navy Diving & Salvage School in Bayonne, NJ. While attending diving school, Brashear faced hostility and racism. He found notes on his bunk saying, "We're going to drunkna you today, nigger!" and "We don't want any nigger divers." First Class Boatswain's Mate Rutherford encouraged Brashear to finish and Carl graduated 16th out of the class of 17, becoming the first African-American U.S. Navy Diver.
Brashear's first work as a diver was retrieving approximately 16,000 rounds of ammunition that fell off a barge
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Shazanta Brashear is known to the world because of his father, Carl Brashear, the Navy’s first black master deep-sea diver.
Shazanta Brashear’s Family
Shazanta Brashear was born to Carl Brashear and Junetta Wilcoxson in Queens County, New York, United States. Master Chief Boatswain’s Mate Carl Maxie Brashear was born on January 19, 1931, in Tonieville, Kentucky, and was the sixth of 16 children to Gonzella Brashear and McDonald Brashear. Carl came from a poor family. His parents were sharecroppers and harvested tobacco, wheat, and corn. In 1952, Carl married Junetta Wilcoxson, born on June 10th, 1933 to Walton and Cora Wilcoxson.
Junetta gave birth to Shazanta Brashear on 17th May 1955. She had three more sons named Dawayne Brashear, born on January 16, 1957, Phillip M. Brashear, born on July 4, 1962, and Patrick S. Brashear, born on July 31, 1964. Carl and Junetta divorced in 1978. Carl married two more times to Hattie R. Elam (1980-1983), and Jeanette A. Brundage (1
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Carl Brashear
One of the first African Americans to become a U.S. Navy Master Diver
Carl Maxie Brashear (19 January 1931 – 25 July 2006) was a United States Navy sailor. He was a Master Diver, rising to the position in 1970, despite having his lower left leg amputated in 1966. The 2000 film Men of Honor was based on his life.
Early life and education
[edit]Brashear was born on 19 January 1931, in Tonieville, LaRue County, Kentucky, the sixth of 16 children to sharecroppers McDonald and Gonzella Brashear.[1][2] In 1935, the family settled on a farm in Sonora, Kentucky. Brashear attended Sonora Grade School from 1937 to 1946.
Career
[edit]Brashear enlisted in the United States Navy on 25 February 1948, four months before the military was desegregated by President Harry S. Truman.[3] He graduated from the United States Navy Diving & Salvage School in 1954, becoming the first African-American to attend and graduate from the Diving &