One of the most influential events in American history occurred when Jesse Owens won four gold medals at the 1936 Berlin Olympics. This accomplishment and others that he would achieve in his life time, given the historical context in which he rose to fame, inspired people for many generations. Jesse Owens created a historic legacy not just because of his record finishes on the track, but also due to the challenging times in which he competed.
Born on September 12, 1913, in Oakville, Alabama, Jesse Owens grew up working on several farms. Jesse’s father, a sharecropper, worked for little pay farming other peoples’ land. As young children, Jesse and his six siblings picked cotton on a rich man’s farm in Alabama. At age nine the Owens family moved to Cleveland, Ohio. Jesse worked in grocery stores as a nine year old in Cleveland to bring in extra money for his family. (Raatma 8-9) Jesse began running track and field in middle school. In 1928 he set many middle school records including jumping almost twenty-three feet in the long jump (“About Jesse Owens” 1). Jesse went to East Technical High School in the 1930s where he continued to set records and develop as a track and field star. In fact, in his Junior Year, at the National Interscholastic Championship, Jesse set the 220-yard dash record and tied the world record in the 100-yard dash. The city of Cleveland, in order to demonstrate their pride, honored Jesse Owens with a citywide parade marking his debut into the spotlight. (Raatma 13)
After an impressive high school track and field career, Jesse Owens studied at Ohio State University. He did not receive a scholarship for his athleticism, so he had to work many jobs to pay for his education. Jesse did not love academics...
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...d Field hall of fame inducted Jesse Owens into its ranks. Two years later, he received the Presidential Medal of Freedom from President Ford. In 1979, President Carter presented Jesse Owens with the Living Legend Award. That year Jesse also learned he had lung cancer. Jesse Owens died from lung cancer on March 31, 1980. (Raatama 35-37)
Jesse Owens accomplished more than just four gold medals in the 1936 Olympics. He showed the world that anyone can do whatever they want if they follow their dreams. Owens created a lasting legacy not just because of his record running times, but also due to the obstacles he overcame that plagued minorities in Hitler’s Germany. Jesse Owens’ influential story of the Berlin Olympics became an important part of American history since it symbolizes the drive of the American spirit to succeed despite the challenges we may face.
Jesse Moncell Bethel was born in New York City, New York on July 8, 1922. He was born to Jesse M. Bethel and Ethel Williams. His father left the home when he was only six months old and his mother died when he was only three and a half years old. Being an orphan now, he was raised by his grandmother in Arkansas. He then moved to Oklahoma where his family sharecropped cotton and cornfields. Bethel attended elementary school while in Oklahoma and later graduated from Booker Washington High School there too. Bethel attended Tillotson College in Austin, Texas. He graduated there with a Bachelors of Science degree in chemistry. He later attended graduate school in 1944 at the University of California Berkley.
One famous athlete that has been debatably persecuted by Hitler was Jesse Owens, an African American sprinter on the United States Olympic team. After winning three gold medals already, he had been ordered to switch places with two other American Jewish U.S. teammates; a controversial move. Given that the replacement enabled the United States to win another gold, it displayed the country’s fear of discrimination, had the other teammates lost. The reaction to Owen’s victory, however, was not celebrated by everyone. There are many claims that Hitler snubbed Owen’s by not shaking his hand to congratulate him. But there are also proposals that Hitler did not congratulate any of the competitors to remain Olympic neutrality. Given that both affiliates are deceased, the topic as of now remains unknown but often
Barry Sanders was born July 16th, 1968 in Wichita, Kansas. He grew up in a family being one of eleven other children. When Barry was a kid he was considered to be too short to play football well at the college level. In fact, his 1,417 yards rushing in his senior year of high school wasn't enough to impress college recruiters. One recruiter told Barry's coach, "We don't need another midget." Only two colleges offered Barry a football scholarship. Barry accepted a scholarship from Oklahoma State University and the rest is now history.
The Olympics take place every two years and allow athletes from all over the world to compete against other Olympians. These individuals are given the world’s stage as large television and radio stations broadcast the games all over the globe and are allowed the opportunity to demonstrate their world-class skill as they compete against others with good sportsmanship and respect. Jimmy Carter’s boycott took away the once in a lifetime opportunity for many athletes to preform at the highest level of competition. Renaldo Nehemiah is one example of an athlete whose opportunity to compete in the Olympics was stolen by the boycott. Before the 1980 Olympics, Nehemiah was expected to win the gold medal in the hurdles. Nehemiah states, "Nothing was accomplished by our boycott in 1980." He said, "It was very disheartening, using sport as a way to achieve political ends. . . . It was difficult for me personally. I was 21 years old and the best in the world, but I 've never walked into an Olympic stadium as an athlete, and that 's still hard. It took a lot of years before I could even talk about it." The strong reactions of the athletes to Jimmy Carter’s decision to boycott the games shows that he didn’t have the support of the people who were the most important to the games, the athletes.
At the 1936 Olympics Owens won 4 gold medals. They were in the 100m, 200m, long jump, and 4x100m relay. By winning every game he competed in he ruined what Hitler wanted the games to represent. They were supposed to represent that whites were more superior than anyone else. This ended when a black man, Jesse Owens, beat out every other white man.
From a boy with no father, to a civil rights activist, Jesse Louis Jackson fought for what he believed in and never gave up. Jackson was born in Greenville, South Carolina on October 8, 1941 to Noah Robinson, a cotton grader, and Helen Burns, a hairdresser. Jesse’s birth name is Jesse Louis Burns. On December 31, 1962, he was married to Jacqueline Lavinia (Brown) Jackson. His children include: Jacqueline (September 2, 1975); Yusef (September 26, 1970); Jonathan (January 7, 1966); Jesse, Jr. (March 11, 1965); and Santita (July 16, 1963). In 1964 he received his Bachelor of Science degree in Sociology at the North Carolina Agricultural & Technical State University and soon after starts a revolution.
Jesse Jackson had a hard but ultimately successful early life. He was born on October 8, 1941 to Helen Burns and her married neighbor, Noah Robinson. Jesse was taunted as a child for being "a nobody who had no daddy” (notablebiographies.com). While Jesse was originally named Jesse Louis Burns, at age fifteen he took on the name of his stepfather, Charles Jackson, who had adopted him earlier. Jesse attended Sterling High School in South Carolina, where he “was elected president of his class, the honor society, and the student council, was named state officer of the Future Teachers of America, finished tenth in his class, and lettered in football, basketball, and baseball (Ryan, encyclopedia.com). Jesse’s athletic success in high school earned him a football scholarship to the University of Illinois, which he left South Carolina to attend in 1959. Then, during his freshmen year there, Jesse became displeased with football and the way he was treated on campus, and transferred to the “predominantly black Agricultural and Technical College of North Carolina in Greensboro and received a B.A. in sociology in 1964” (Ency...
Germany a country forever plagued by the Nazis and their leader Adolf Hitler. Before World War Two Hitler's Germany hosted the Olympic Games in the capital of Berlin. Hitler found the games as a perfect way to show the world that Aryans or white non-Jewish people are superior to all others. Fortunately Jesse Owens an African American athlete proved Hitler's were illogical, because of his performance at the Berlin Olympics’ Owens took home four gold medals.
Jesse Jackson was born Jesse Louis Burns in 1941 in Greenville, South Carolina. He was born to the parents of Helen Burns and Noah Robinson. His mother remarried two years later to a man named Charles Jackson. Jackson graduated from Sterling High School and received a football scholarship to the University of Illinois. During his first year, he became displeased with the treatment on the university grounds and on
Jesse James was born in Clay County, Missouri on the Fifth of September 1847. His parents were Zerelda and Robert James. They were hemp farmers that owned six slaves, but most people wouldn’t know that. They only know him as an outlaw. Nevertheless, the name “Jesse James” is one that almost everyone has heard, even though he has been dead for over one hundred years. (Defeat n. pg.) Now, although Jesse James was a traditional outlaw in many respects, his legend perseveres as an icon of American culture.
Jackie Robinson was born on January 31, 1919, in Cairo, Georgia. His parents were Jerry and Mallie Robinson. They lived on a small farm and worked as sharecroppers. Sharecroppers are people who rent land and pay the owner of the land some of their crops. After about a year of his life his father left his family of five children.
John Carlos was born in Harlem, New York in 1945. Carlos graduated high school with a full track and field scholarship to East Texas State University. He won his university's first track and field Lone Star Conference championship. From East Texas, Carlos went to San Jose State University. After going to San Jose University he headed off to the Olympics along with Harry Edwards. They became friends with each other on the way to the Olympics. Carlos won the Bronze medal in the 200-meter final. During the medal acceptance, he raised his left arm in the air with a black glove on. This action was the Black Power salute. The picture that was taken of this has been documented into history. It shows just how far African American to show just how far
“The way I figured it” said Jackie Robinson, “I was even with baseball and baseball with me. The game had done much for me, and I had done much for it” (Robinson). Many people will not publically stand up for what they believe in due to fear of retribution. Jackie Robinson stood up for what he believed in even though people didn’t agree with him. Jackie Robinson is still famous today due to his outstanding baseball skills, his love for the game, and breaking the color barrier.
Athletes come and go, but there are a great few that are remembered for having made a bigger impact than normal on the sporting world. A few of those athletes names are Michael Jordan, Tiger Woods, Wayne Gretzky, and Bo Jackson. Many people don’t know very much about Bo. This is because he wasn’t playing for very long. Although his career came to an abrupt end, Bo Jackson is still considered one of the best athletes ever because of the impact he was able to make while he was healthy. Knowing what he accomplished in his short time in professional sports makes many wonder, what more could he have done?
In a book about African-Americans and Popular Culture Boyd (2008, pg.67) states that the politics of the Olympics combined with the spotlight enabled by television allowed Smith, Carlos, Muhammad Ali and countless other black athletes with a platform to give voice to those without voice. Also, to expose the pain and suffering that had long been ignored in the United States.