JESSE

THE TRUE STORY OF J.C.OWENS

Not the story of a man and a race, but an apology from the human race

“In less than a week, on the sacred soil of the Fatherland, the master athlete Jesse Owens humiliated the master race. Utterly and completely. Four Gold medals. Two Olympic records. One World record. But ever a remarkably even-keeled and magnanimous human being, Owens does not gloat. When he is asked about how he felt defeating the fascists, he merely comments that just as sure as he knows that fascism is evil, his own country has a way to go too in improving life for African-Americans.”

“When I came back to my native country, after all the stories about Hitler, I still couldn't ride in the front of the bus. I had to go to the back door. And use the service elevator. I still couldn't live where I wanted. I wasn't invited to shake hands with Hitler, but I also wasn't invited to the White House to shake hands with the President, either.
“ To a sprinter, the hundred-yards is over in 3 seconds, not 9 or 10. The first second is when you come out of the blocks. The next is when you look up and take your first few strides to attain position. And by that time the race is actually about half over. The final second - the longest slice of time in the world for an athlete - is that last half of the race, when you really bear down and see what you're made of. It seems to take an eternity, yet it’s all over before you can think what's happening. And that was kind of metaphoric for the second half of my life.
“ After I came home from the 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.
“People say that it was degrading for an Olympic champion to run against a horse. But what was I supposed to do? I had four gold medals, but you can't eat four gold medals. There was no television, no big advertising, no endorsements. Not for a black man, anyway! Black men weren’t even allowed to become professional baseball players. Or footballers. So when I came back, I ended up having to take a job as a schoolyard playground instructor paying just $28 a week.”

JAMES CLEVELAND OWENS

“Jesse Owens, The kid who dreamed of greatness as he grew up in Alabama never ran again in competition. He retired, bruised and upset at the age of 22. What he achieved on the athletic track has never been equaled.”

“Perhaps no athlete better symbolized the human struggle against tyranny, poverty and racial bigotry. His personal triumphs as a world-class athlete and record holder were the prelude to a career devoted to helping others. His work with young athletes, as an unofficial ambassador overseas, and a spokesman for freedom are a rich legacy to his fellow Americans.”

“Jesse Owens’ victories in Berlin were an unrivaled athletic triumph, but more than that, they were a triumph for all humanity.”

“I have a dream that one day the state of Alabama, whose governor's lips are presently dripping with the words of interposition and nullification, will be transformed into a situation where little black boys and black girls will be able to join hands with little white boys and white girls and walk together as sisters and brothers.”

Is it getting better? Or do you feel the same? Will it make it easier on you now, you got someone to blame. One love. One life. When it’s one need in the night. One love, we get to share, leaves you better. No cares.

Did I disappoint you? Or leave a bad taste in your mouth? You act like you’ve never had love, and you won’t need to go without. Well, it’s too late, tonight, to drag the past out into the night.
Have you come here for forgiveness? Have you come to raise the dead? Have you come here to play Jesus? To the lepers in your head? Did I ask too much? More than a lot? You gave me nothing now it’s all I got.
We’re One. But we’re not the same, untill we carry each other…