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Essay by: Tanner
Jesse Owens “Would any of you be shocked if I started a speech on black
history by talking about Adolf Hitler? He was one of the most terrible leaders
in the history of the world. He wanted to prove to the world that the white Germans
were the superior race, and he started a war about it. Imagine his surprise when
I, a black American, came into his Berlin Olympics, and walked off with 4 gold
medals and three world records, right in the heart of Nazi Germany, while he
was trying to prove that white Germans were the superior race. Hi my name is
Jesse Owens, I signed up for the 1936 summer Olympics, the Olympics that lots
of people call, “the Hitler Olympics.” These games were going to
be held right in the middle of Nazi Germany, in Berlin, and Hitler was going
to try very hard to prove that white people, or Aryan people, were the perfect
race. I thought something else though, and by the end of the Olympics even Germans
were cheering for me. I won gold medals in the 100 meter dash, the 200 meter
dash, and the broad jump. People also say that I was a key person in the 400
meter relay to help my team win the gold in that event and I left with 4 golds
from Berlin. "After I came home from the 1936 Olympics with my four medals,
it became increasingly apparent that everyone was going to slap me on the back,
want to shake my hand or have me up to their suite. But no one was going to offer
me a job." "For a time, at least, I was the most famous person in the
entire world.” My life after the Olympics was still tough. My family was
really poor, but I couldn’t get any good jobs because I am black. I did
make some money doing jobs here and there, just trying to make some money. In
1976 I was awarded the highest honor an American Civilian can receive, the Medal
of Freedom, given to me by President Gerald Ford. Later, I also got the Congressional
Gold Medal from President George H. W. Bush. They even named a street in Berlin
after me in 1982. I overcame segregation, racism and bigotry and proved that
African-Americans belong in the world of athletics. Later I started the
Jesse Owens
Foundation, which gives money to kids who do not have opportunities to
pursue their goals. I would tell them "One chance is all you need." And “It
all goes so fast, and character makes the difference when it's close." Later,
I died on March 31st, 1980, at 66 years old. I am buried in Oak Woods Cemetery
in Chicago, Illinois. My wife, Ruth, and my three daughters Gloria, Beverly and
Marlene run my foundation now. “We all have dreams. In order to make dreams
come into reality, it takes an awful lot of determination, dedication, self-discipline
and effort."
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