James Cleveland Owens Role Model

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Athlete, Trailblazer Sprinter, role model, are three words that make up James Cleveland Owens. Many people know that James Cleveland Owens was an Olympic Hero by being brave enough to go against Adolf Hitler but he was much more. As a well known athlete. James Cleveland Owens proved to Americans that anybody with any skin color can win an Olympic medal. He has left a long lasting legacy as an African American Olympic Hero. The early life of James Cleveland Owens was very difficult because of segregation and all of that bad stuff, but first Owens was born in Oakville Alabama on September 12, 1913 as James Cleveland Owens(Wordbook 141). His parents were sharecroppers(McDougall 17) and he worked all day in in cotton field. He had to carry 100 …show more content…

Owens won 4 Olympic Gold Medals in the 1963 Berlin Olympics(Nash 1). He also set a record of 39.8 seconds in the 400m in the Olympics(RareNewsPapers Web) and he set a long jump record that stood for 25 years(Bio.com Web).James Cleveland Owens created long lasting memories in the Olympics by being the first black person to win 4 Gold Medals in the Olympics. Jesse Owens is respected in his home town Alabama and there’s also a statue of him in one of Alabama’s parks. Jesse Owens proved that anybody and their skin color can win an Olympic Medal and even get to the Olympics, because in Jesse Owens life he was always discouraged and he proved to everyone that he was a star or more like a shooting star. Jesse Owens struggled a lot in his life with poverty and segregation, and to but all of that on your back and become a superstar is a lot. It is also worthy for being a hero of change.He wanted change for black people and any people who were treated unfair. Even after the Olympics Jesse Owens was still had to deal with racist people and people he supported segregation in America, after he had to deal with Hitler and his belief on white supremacy, but Jesse Owens just shook them off and lived his life to his fullest and motivated others to do well which also makes him makes a hero of change. In total Jesse Owens had a lot of achievements or accolades that makes him a historical