The Jesse Owens Story
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The Jesse Owens Story
Background Of the story
Jesse Owens’s story is an inspirational and, at the same time, educative American drama that premiered in the year 1984. The story was about a black athlete named Jesse Owen. The writer, (lew Gilbert), had a perspective to interview Owens and his trainer for insights into Owens’ life. The reporter in his show said that his attention to interview Owens was due to media gossip that they were investigating Owen for his case concerning Tax evasion. The prosecution’s primary line popped out after Owens bought his parents’ house and awarded his trainer a new car (Pieper & Linden, 2020).
What is there to tell?
Jesse Owens was an Olympic athlete whose career in field track began when he was studying at high school. Jesse states in the interview that his success and love for way started when he first won three track events at the 1993 national inter-high school Championships. Behind every successful man, there is a rough story to tell. While growing up, Owen often felt sick, battling chronic bronchial congestion and pneumonia. This illness made Owens’s childhood so tricky. He narrates that his family was so poor that he had to work to help his parents have food at a young age.
Owen began to like sports when he joined High school. When he first won 100, 200, and long jump tracks, Fortune knocked at his doorsteps. Owen was wise to balance between Academic sports activities. After completing his school education, he grabbed a spot at Ohio State University, where he continued to expose his abilities to the world. His time at the university was full of winning, where he won other tracks, including setting a long jump record that lasted for 25 years.
The story of Jesse Owen is also associated with the 1936 Olympics. In this era, Racism was so up that the German leader by them, Adolf Hitler, criticized America for allowing black athletes to participate and compete. The Olympics saw America carry the day after it won 11 gold, where four of the gold were won by Jesse Owen.
Jesse Owens remains to be One of America all greats. He has been celebrated as the first American to win four gold medals at once. The story of Jesse Owen remains a vital piece of the journal because he became a symbol representing freedom and social mobility. He inspires so many people that success has nothing to do with race or ethnicity. Being black didn’t stop him from going for the gold at the Olympics. Many people can emulate his passion and focus as a calm-oriented trait in a world full of chaos.
Through this story, Jesse Owens’s victory in the 1036 Olympics in Berlin, Germany, contributes to modern-day racial abuse. Despite Adolf Hitler’s criticism of African American participation in the games, Jesse Owens never retreated from going for his win (Brooks & Jones, 2021). Through his courage in athletic achievements, Owen became an icon of victory against social discrimination. Jesse serves as an inspirational man through his life journey; his words were for free to youths and the like, encouraging people never to give up.
Borrowing from his fight for equality, Jesse was forced to resign from the secretary of Illinois youth role. Owens had tried to get more black drivers to get job opportunities in the truck and cab business, but that brought him more trouble than he thought. Despite losing his role, he continued to believe and fight for what he believed.
Lessons from Jesse Owens Story
Jesse Owens demonstrated a true character of a survivor; when he developed a bump on his chest, it is said that his mother used a kitchen knife to operate his chest and managed to remove a growth. Despite losing a lot of blood, he was able to survive. He stood up to fight life’s challenges as the first black man elected as the Ohio State University team captain. He survived restrictions from living in the on-campus hostels because of his color.
Eagers fly. In his book “Black think.” Jesse demonstrated that we should never expect a warm welcome when winning. People don’t always want to see you win, but like eagers, we must keep flying. His return after winning at the games was not of a kind that champions deserve, but he didn’t mind that. He took his time to write an inspirational message to the generation behind him.
The story teaches us to reach out to the land of opportunities. After retiring from amateur athletics, Owen started to earn from his physical talents. Racing against cars and animals, he never allowed time to define him; instead, with time, he found treasure. He went on to find a job in public relations and marketing. This is an excellent example that we have to look for opportunities. The opportunity to compete in the 1936 Olympic gold is one way we should learn from Jesse Owens’s story. We can also make a difference from good causes and help the community.
Reference
Pieper, L. P., & Linden, A. D. (2020). Race but Not Racism: The Jesse Owens Story and Race. The International Journal of the History of Sport, 37(10), 853-871
Brooks, F. E., & Jones Sr, K. M. (2021). Jesse Owens: A Life in American History. ABC-CLIO
