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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.
school. It was a wonder that he got into Notre Dame with his high school record.
Cesar Chavez was born in 1927 to a farmer in Meza, Arizona. When Cesar was 10 years old, his father lost his farm and the family was forced to become migrant farm workers in California. During this time he would encounter the conditions that dedicated his life to changing: wr...
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.
Jesse Owens was a great african american man who helped change the way people look at the african american these days. Without him the track and field sport would have probably taken great deal more time to change from white only to runners of all colors . Jesse Owens grew up poor, but he had the abilities to succeed with his great athletic talents. "The recognition received from his athletic accomplishments enabled him to become well known and promoted the understanding that African Americans are just as capable as any other individual." Jesse Owens was an African American athlete who ran in the 1936 Berlin Olympics. After his track and field career, Owens went back to his home town, Cleveland,
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?
Jordan helped revolutionize the game of basketball, the marketing brand of the NBA, and became one of the most recognizible humans on the face of the Earth. Through the Civil Rights movement, America's involvement in the Cold War, and a period of transition in America, Michael Jordan entered the NBA at a time of cultivation. All the hard work that Jordan did through his life, and all the hard work society did to progress as a whole colloborated in the 1980's, and allowed Michael Jordan to become a revolutionary. Michael Jordan is an iconic symbol of not just basketball, but American change and progress and it's influence throughout the world.
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.
Following his success in the 1936 Berlin Olympics, Jesse Owens stated that “[I] wasn’t invited to shake hands with Hitler, but I wasn’t invited to the White House to shake hands with the president either.” While Owen’s words were brushed aside at the time, this statement illustrates the color barrier that stood strong throughout Owen’s many triumphs. Often thought of as one of the best presidents of the United States, FDR fell victim to the degradation of African Americans along with everyone else. Jesse Owens was the first in a series of African Americans who transcended the color barrier for brief moments when it was to the advantage of White America in a time where African Americans were treated as objects. However, his restoration to the lowly levels of American civilization quickly returned upon his reentry to the country he represented. While subjecting himself to this continuous ridicule and embarrassment, Owens persevered as a true hero for the African American race, as optimistic people capitalized on the fame he obtained for brief stints. Therefore, acting as the first “nonwhite” hope, the eventual reputation he garnered from
Jesse Woodson James was born on September 5, 1847 in Western Missouri. Jesse’s father, a Baptist minister, Robert Salle James and his mother Zerelda Cole. Jesse had one whole brother Frank James and other half and step siblings. Jesse’s father died when he was a young boy and his mother remarried more than once. When Jesse was 17 he married a young girl, who was also his first cousin, named Zerelda Mimms. They had 2 children, Jesse Jr. and Mary. (O’Brien)
At 22, after two-thirds of a year at Berea College in West Virginia, he returned to the coalmines and studied Latin and Greek between trips to the mineshafts. He then went on to the University of Chicago, where he received bachelors and master's degrees, and Harvard University, where he became the second black to receive a doctorate in history.
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.
Jackie Robinson is important because he was the first black major league baseball player who was around during the Civil Rights Movement. Jackie Robinson’s older brother inspired him to pursue his talents and love for athletics as they were growing up. His older brother name was Matthew Robinson, who was a silver medal winner in the 200-meter dash. Matthew came in second place behind Jesse Owens in the 1936 Olympic game in Berlin. Jackie Robinson is a very important athlete to this day because of his accomplishments and overcoming the hard times when major league baseball was a segregated game and back when the Civil Rights Movement was taking place and when baseball was just a white man’s sport but Jackie Robinson changed that (“Robinson, Jackie Biography”).
Carter was allowed to attend school at Douglas High School part time where he successfully earned a high school diploma and graduated in approximately a year and a half in 1896. Carter then went on to attend Berea College in Kentucky. In 1900 Carter returned to Douglas High School to become a teacher and eventually became a principal. Carter served as the principal up until 1903. During his time while working as a principal, Carter was taking classes at the University of Chicago where in 1907 he received a Bachelors Degree and his Masters Degree in 1908.
“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.
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.