Life Of Jesse Owens

Throughout the 1900s, in America, African Americans were not treated fairly. They were constantly being harassed and bullied because of the color of their skin. In 1936, as the Berlin Olympics approached, Adolf Hitler began targeting Jews, gypsies, and African Americans. He believed that the Aryan race, Germans, with blond hair and blue eyes (and other people of northern Europe) were superior to everyone else (Reed). As the Olympics began, the world was gearing up for war. Many non-Aryans were determined to prove Hitler wrong. One shining star in particular did just this. Jesse Owens, a track star, during the 1936 Berlin Olympics proved to be a hero because he won four gold medals for America and crushed Hitler’s racist theories. Owens worked extremely hard throughout his life to earn these four gold medals at the games. As a young boy, life for Owens wasn’t easy. He had to work at a very young age to support his family. His early years is when his journey as a track star began. In his mid-life, Owens accomplished many thing in high school and college, mostly in the sport of track. Some of his biggest accomplishments as a runner and as an African American occurred during the 1936 Berlin Olympics (“Jesse Owens” Encyclopedia). Late in life he stopped running track but still worked and continued to speak about his experiences (Reed). Jesse Owens was a strong kid that grew up to become even stronger due to the challenges of life. He constantly carried a burden on his shoulder due to his skin color, but that didn’t stop him! Owens wasn’t spoiled growing up. He had to work for what he wanted, like many others during his time. Owens was born in Alabama on September 12, 1913, the town in which he was born is not certain but said to be either Oakville or Danville. Owens’ family history alone showed how hard life would be for him. He was the son of a sharecropper; one who lets others use his land, and receives crops when they are grown, and the grandson of slaves (Jesse