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A Discussion Of Jesse Owens In The Berlin Olympic Games

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Among many common issues that consume the world today, race is one that has been around for generations. Jesse Owens, a four time Olympic Gold Medalist in track and field, knows about this issue all too well. While attending college at Ohio State University he tied a world record and broke three others. In the 1936 Berlin Games, he broke or equaled 9 Olympic records and set three world records. Outside of track and field, however, Owens was the grandson of slaves and had endured racial battles his entire life. While preparing to compete in the 1936 Berlin Olympic Games, Owens was bombarded with comments of disapproval from Adolf Hitler, who was completely against Jesse Owens competing. Even today, racism surrounds not only our country, but also our world. …show more content…

Jesse’s achievements led to the people of Berlin hailing him as a hero. For the Nazi supporters to show respect for an African American was truly something that took Hitler by surprise. As much as it probably infuriated Adolf, I can’t imagine that even for a small second, Hitler did not feel some sort of pride or happiness for what he was just able to witness. Jesse Owens united people of all sorts by simply running a race. However, as much as Hitler, who was across the world, didn’t want him to compete, there were also protests right here in America. Jesse Owens once said “Although I wasn’t invited to shake hands with Hitler, I wasn’t invited to the White House to shake hands with the President

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Tommy Smith and John Carlos showed the whole world something quite powerful without even saying a single word. Doing so would change the life of three mens in both good and bad. The black salute Tommie Smith and John Carlos portrayed in the 1969 summer Olympics has helped shape the equality we have today and has inspired people to show their courage and what they believe in. Mexico City in 1968 was

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After all of this happened, he managed the unthinkable when he obtained a Nazi salute from Hitler after proving him wrong (Israel 2). The same year he won The associated Press Athlete of the Year Award. Jesse had accomplished so much that many Ivy league schools desired his presence. On top of his 3 previous broken records, in 1937 he broke another five records and tieing a sixth one (bio.com). He did this all in a matter of 40 minutes (Israel 16).

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Well, Jesse Jackson experienced that, and he strongly believed it shouldn’t have been that way. Jesse Jackson showed potential to get rid of racial divides since he was little. Growing up, he was a very serious student, and athlete, who believed in all people having equal rights. Jackson is still a very important person today. He was on the balcony, when Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was shot.

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At the Olympics, on every day, Hitler had a scheduled time to leave, but Hitler had seen German victors on the first day. After a warning from the Olympic officials, he decided to not see the victors if he had to see all of them. This shows that Hitler did not want to shake Jesse Owens’s hand. However, it is said that Jesse Owens carried a photo in his wallet of Hitler congratulating him.

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Jesse Owens was a hard working hero who believed in hard work and its rewards . Jesse Owens worked with the president to help people in places in the ivory coast to open clinic and talk about the many freedoms of the United States(http://www.tiki-toki.com ) . Because of segregation Jesse owens was not offered many many jobs so he was forced to work many small jobs like racing horses and pumping gas in the summer ( http://www.u-s-history.com ). After segregation ended in 1964 Jesse Owens was given the honor of having his name in the “Arco Jesse Owens games” which is an event for young kids who participate in track ( http://www.tiki-toki.com ).

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He overcame many racial stereotypes by going to the Olympics and becoming the first African American track star. Before Owens went to the Olympics, many large organizations such as the AAU and NAACP suggested not competing and boycotting it. They said this because it was opened by Adolf Hitler, and they didn't want anything bad to happen to Owens from Hitler’s controversial beliefs. Jesse Owens decided that he would compete anyways. He wanted to stand up for athletes who had been denied the opportunity to participate in sporting events previously due to their skin color.

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All U.S. revolutionary heroes follow a trend: they all worked incredibly hard to achieve what they were famous for. Jesse Owens falls right into that trend. “He worked as a night elevator operator, a waiter, he pumped gas, worked in the library stacks, and served a stint as a page in the Ohio Statehouse, all of this in between practice and record setting on the field in intercollegiate competition.” (Luminary 1). While Jesse was away at college he already had a tough schedule with all his classes and competing and practicing in track.

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