Jesse Owens: The Life Story Behind the Berlin Hero
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Jesse Owens is one of the most famous athletes who ever lived, and his fame does not come only from winning. It comes from where he won, and when he won, and what his winning meant to the world. In August 1936, in Berlin, in Germany, in front of Adolf Hitler and a crowd that had been told that one race was better than all others, a Black American athlete from Alabama won four gold medals, in the 100 metres, the 200 metres, the long jump, and the 4x100 metres relay, and he did it with a grace and a speed that made the whole world stop and watch. It was a moment that changed sport, and changed history, and it is still talked about today, almost ninety years later, because it showed that a lie, even a lie told by a powerful government, can be beaten by a man who runs fast and jumps far.
He was born James Cleveland Owens, in Oakville, Alabama, in 1913, the son of sharecroppers, people who farmed land they did not own, and who lived in poverty, and who moved north to Cleveland, Ohio, when Jesse was nine years old, looking for a better life. He was a sickly child, and he was poor, and he was Black in a country that did not treat Black people fairly, but he could run, and he could jump, and he loved to do both, and a teacher at school noticed him, and a coach at Ohio State University believed in him, and he became the greatest athlete of his time. His story is a story about talent, about hard work, and about injustice, because he won in Berlin, and he came home to a country that still would not let him sit in the front of a bus, or eat in a white restaurant, or be honoured by his own president.
He died in 1980, at the age of sixty-six, and he was honoured in his later life, with the Medal of Freedom, and with a stadium named after him, and with a place in history that no one can take away. But his story is not a simple happy story. It is a story about a man who was used by his country, and who was forgotten by his country, and who kept going anyway, with dignity, and with grace, and with a belief that sport could change the world, even if the world was slow to change. That is why we still tell his story, and why we will keep telling it.
A Sharecropper’s Son From Oakville, Alabama
James Cleveland Owens was born on 12 September 1913 in Oakville, Alabama, a small town in the south of America. His parents, Henry and Emma Owens, were sharecroppers, which means they farmed land owned by someone else, and they gave a share of their crop to the owner, and they lived in poverty, in a small house, with little money, and with many children. Jesse was the youngest of ten children, and he was a sickly boy, often ill, with a weak chest, and his parents worried about him, and they worked hard to keep him alive. He was a small boy, and a thin one, but he could run, and he loved to run, and he ran everywhere, to school, to the fields, and back home, because running was faster than walking, and because it felt good.
When Jesse was nine years old, in 1922, the family moved north to Cleveland, Ohio, as part of the Great Migration, when many Black families left the south to look for work and a better life in the north. They settled in Cleveland, and Jesse went to school there, and it was at school that his name changed. His teacher asked him his name, and he said J.C., for James Cleveland, and the teacher heard Jesse, and wrote it down, and the name stuck, and he became Jesse Owens for the rest of his life. It was a simple mistake, and it gave him a name that the whole world would one day know.
At school in Cleveland, a teacher named Charles Riley noticed that Jesse could run fast, and he began to coach him, in the mornings, before school, because Jesse had to work after school to help his family. Riley was a kind man, and a good coach, and he taught Jesse how to run, how to start, how to finish, and how to believe in himself. Jesse listened, and he learned, and he became the fastest boy in his school, and then the fastest boy in Cleveland, and then the fastest boy in Ohio. He won races, and he set records, and people began to say that he might become a great athlete, even though he was poor, and Black, and from a family that had nothing.
He went to Ohio State University in 1933, on an athletics scholarship, and he was a star there, even though he had to work part-time to pay for his living, and even though he could not live in the same dormitories as white students, and could not eat in the same restaurants. He faced racism every day, at university, and in America, and he handled it with a quiet dignity that became his trademark. He did not shout, and he did not protest loudly, but he ran, and he jumped, and he won, and his winning was a form of protest, because it showed that a Black man could be the best in the world, even in a country that told him he was not.
The Day of Days in 1935
On 25 May 1935, at a meeting in Ann Arbor, Michigan, Owens had a day that is still called the Day of Days in athletics, and that is still regarded as one of the greatest days any athlete has ever had. He was suffering from a bad back, and he had fallen down a flight of stairs, and he could barely walk, and his coach wanted him to withdraw, but Owens insisted on competing, and he did something extraordinary. In the space of forty-five minutes, he set three world records, and tied a fourth, in the long jump, the 220 yards, the 220 yards low hurdles, and the 100 yards. It was a performance that has never been matched, and it showed that Owens was not only fast, but also a brilliant hurdler and jumper, and that he could do it all, even when he was in pain.
He set a world record in the long jump, with a leap of more than eight metres, a record that stood for twenty-five years, until it was broken in 1960. He set a world record in the 220 yards, and in the 220 yards low hurdles, and he tied the world record in the 100 yards. It was a day when everything went right, and when a young man from Ohio State showed the world what he could do, and it made him the favourite for the Olympic Games in Berlin the following year. It also showed his courage, because he competed when he was hurt, and he won when he should not have been able to compete at all. That is a rare kind of bravery, and it is one that people still talk about today.
He married Minnie Ruth Solomon in 1935, in a ceremony that was private and happy. They had met at school in Cleveland, and they had been together for many years, and they would stay together for the rest of his life. They had three daughters, Gloria, Beverly, and Marlene, and Ruth was the steady centre of his life, through the triumphs in Berlin, and through the hard years that followed, when he came home to a country that did not honour him. She supported him, and she loved him, and she kept their family together, and Owens has often been remembered as a family man, as well as a great athlete, because Ruth was always there, beside him, in good times and in bad.
He went to the Olympics in 1936 as the star of the American team, and as the man the world was watching, because everyone knew that Berlin would be a special Games, and that Owens would be at the centre of it, whether he wanted to be or not. He did not want to be a political symbol. He wanted to be an athlete, and to run, and to jump, and to win, and that is what he did, in a way that made him a symbol anyway, because his winning meant more than sport.
Four Golds in Berlin in 1936
The Olympic Games in Berlin in 1936 were held in Nazi Germany, under Adolf Hitler, who believed in a racist idea that one group of people, the Aryans, were better than all others, and who used the Games to show the world his power. Owens, a Black American, was the opposite of what Hitler believed in, and his presence in Berlin was a challenge to that idea, simply by being there, and by running, and by winning. He did not set out to be a political hero. He set out to be an athlete, but his winning became a political act, because it proved that Hitler’s idea was a lie.
He won the 100 metres on 3 August, in 10.3 seconds, beating Ralph Metcalfe of America, and he won the long jump on 4 August, with a leap of more than eight metres, beating Luz Long of Germany, a tall, blond, German athlete who became his friend during the competition. Long gave Owens advice on his run-up, and Owens gave Long respect, and the two men became friends, in a stadium full of Nazi flags, and their friendship is one of the most beautiful stories of the Games. Long was later killed in the Second World War, and Owens kept his memory alive for the rest of his life, and he spoke about him with love, and with gratitude, and he said that Long was one of the finest men he ever met.
He won the 200 metres on 5 August, in a world record time of 20.7 seconds, and he won the 4x100 metres relay on 9 August, with his American teammates, in a world record time, his fourth gold medal of the Games. He had won four golds, in six days, in front of Hitler, and in front of the world, and he had done it with a grace and a speed that made the crowd, even the German crowd, cheer for him. Hitler did not congratulate him, and did not shake his hand, and the story of whether Hitler snubbed Owens has been debated ever since, but what is clear is that Owens won, and that his winning mattered, and that it is still remembered today as one of the great moments in Olympic history.
He came home to America as a hero, and he was given a parade in New York, and he was celebrated, but he was not honoured by President Franklin Roosevelt, who did not invite him to the White House, and who did not congratulate him, because Roosevelt was afraid of losing votes in the south, where racism was strong. Owens was also not given the opportunities that white athletes were given, and he had to work hard to make a living, racing against horses, and cars, and dogs, in exhibitions, to earn money, because he had no other way to support his family. It was a sad and unjust homecoming, and it is a part of his story that is often forgotten, but that matters, because it shows that winning in Berlin did not change America, at least not at once.
Coming Home to a Country That Did Not Honour Him
After Berlin, Owens found it hard to make a living as an athlete, because there was no professional track and field in America, and because he was Black, and because the opportunities that were open to white athletes were not open to him. He worked as a playground supervisor, he worked in public relations, he worked as a goodwill ambassador for the Olympic movement, and he worked hard to support his family, and to give his daughters a good life. He did not complain loudly, but he spoke about the injustice, and he said that he had won four gold medals, and he had come home to a country where he could not sit in the front of a bus, or eat in a white restaurant, and that was wrong, and that it hurt him.
He became a successful businessman in later life, working in public relations in Chicago, and he became a speaker, and a writer, and a voice for sport, and for young people, and he was respected for his dignity, and for his grace, and for his refusal to be bitter, even though he had every reason to be bitter. He said that he did not hate anyone, and that he believed in America, and that he believed sport could change the world, even if it was slow to change. That is a generous way to live, and it is a human way, and it is one that people still admire today.
In 1976, President Gerald Ford awarded him the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the highest civilian honour in America, forty years after Berlin, and it was a recognition that had come very late, but that meant a great deal to Owens, and to his family. He was also honoured with a stadium named after him at Ohio State, and with a street named after him in Berlin, and with many other honours, in America and around the world. He died on 31 March 1980 in Tucson, Arizona, at the age of sixty-six, after a long illness, and he was mourned around the world, as a hero, and as a gentleman, and as a man who had changed history with his feet.
In 1990, ten years after his death, he was awarded the Congressional Gold Medal, posthumously, by the United States Congress, a final honour, and a final recognition, that he had been a great American, and a great athlete, and a man who deserved to be honoured. His daughters accepted the medal on his behalf, and they spoke about their father with love, and with pride, and they said that he would have been happy to know that America had finally honoured him. It was a sad ending, and a happy one, because the honour came, even if it came too late for him to enjoy it in life.
What Berlin Still Means Today
Owens’s story still matters today, because it is a story about racism, and about how sport can challenge racism, and about how a single person can change the world, even when the world is against them. He went to Berlin, and he won, and he proved that a Black man could be the best in the world, and that Hitler’s idea was a lie, and that is a powerful thing, and it is a thing that still gives hope to people who face racism today. He did not change the world overnight, and he did not end racism, but he showed that racism can be beaten, on a track, in a stadium, in front of the world, and that is a beginning, and beginnings matter.
He also teaches us about dignity, and about how to handle injustice with grace. He was treated badly by his own country, and he did not become bitter, and he did not hate, and he kept working, and he kept believing in America, and in sport, and in young people. That is a hard thing to do, and it is a human thing to do, and it is a lesson that many people need to hear today, when anger is easy, and dignity is hard. Owens chose dignity, and he is remembered for it, and that is a fine legacy.
His friendship with Luz Long also teaches us about humanity, and about how two men, from different countries, and different races, and different beliefs, can become friends, in a stadium full of hate, and can help each other, and respect each other. Long gave Owens advice, and Owens gave Long respect, and they became friends, and Long died in the war, and Owens never forgot him. That is a beautiful story, and it is a reminder that sport can bring people together, even when politics tries to pull them apart, and that friendship can survive even in the hardest times.
A Teacher, a Coach, and the People Who Believed in Him
Owens was helped, at every stage of his life, by people who believed in him, and who gave him their time, and their knowledge, and their love. At school in Cleveland, his teacher Charles Riley noticed that he could run fast, and he coached him in the mornings, before school, because Jesse had to work after school, and Riley did it for free, because he believed in the boy, and because he wanted to help him. At Ohio State, his coach Larry Snyder believed in him, and taught him, and supported him, even when the university treated Black students unfairly, and even when Owens had to live apart, and eat apart, and work part-time to pay his way. Snyder was a white coach, in a racist time, who treated Owens as an athlete, and as a man, and who gave him the same respect he gave to white athletes, and that mattered, and Owens never forgot it.
His wife Ruth was another person who believed in him, and who supported him, through the triumphs in Berlin, and through the hard years that followed, when he came home to a country that did not honour him, and when he had to work hard to make a living, and to support his family. Ruth was the steady centre of his life, and she kept their family together, and she loved him, and she encouraged him, and she was there, beside him, in good times and in bad, for forty-five years, until his death. That is a remarkable partnership, and it is a reminder that behind every great athlete, there is often a person who loves them, and who believes in them, and who makes their success possible, by giving them a home, and a family, and a reason to keep going.
He also had friends, and teammates, and fellow athletes, who supported him, and who respected him, and who learned from him, and who carried his example with them, long after Berlin. Ralph Metcalfe, who finished second to Owens in the 100 metres in Berlin, was a friend, and a fellow American, and a man who understood what Owens had done, and who respected him for it. Luz Long, the German long jumper, was a friend, who gave him advice, and who became a symbol of friendship across borders, and across races, and who died in the war, and who is still remembered, because Owens remembered him, and spoke about him, with love, for the rest of his life. Those people mattered, and they are a part of his story, because no great athlete succeeds alone, and Owens did not succeed alone, even though he ran alone, and jumped alone, on the track in Berlin.
Ohio State, a Stadium, and a Name That Lives On
Owens went to Ohio State University, and he was a star there, even though he faced racism every day, and even though he had to work part-time, and live apart, and eat apart, and he handled it with a quiet dignity that became his trademark. He set records at Ohio State, and he won titles, and he became the best athlete in the university’s history, and the university named its track stadium after him, the Jesse Owens Memorial Stadium, a place where young athletes still run, and jump, and dream, today, almost ninety years after he first ran there. It is a fitting honour, and it is a reminder that a university can learn, and can change, and can honour a man it once treated unfairly, and that is a hopeful thing, and a good thing, even if it came late.
He is also honoured in Berlin, with a street named after him, and with a plaque, and with a place in the Olympic Stadium, where he won his four golds, and where visitors still come, to remember him, and to learn about him, and to be inspired by him. He is honoured in America, with the Medal of Freedom, and the Congressional Gold Medal, and with stamps, and statues, and schools named after him, and he is honoured around the world, as a hero, and as a gentleman, and as a man who changed history. Those honours came late, in many cases, but they came, and they are still there, and they will be there for as long as people remember sport, and history, and courage, and that is a fine legacy, for a sharecropper’s son from Alabama, who became the fastest man in the world.
He died in 1980, at the age of sixty-six, and he was mourned around the world, as a hero, and as a man who had lived with dignity, and with grace, and who had never become bitter, even though he had every reason to be bitter. His daughters, Gloria, Beverly, and Marlene, accepted honours on his behalf, and they spoke about their father with love, and with pride, and they said that he would have been happy to know that America had finally honoured him, and that the world had not forgotten him. It was a sad ending, and a happy one, because the honour came, even if it came too late, and because his name lives on, in stadiums, and in streets, and in schools, and in the hearts of people who still tell his story, and who still learn from it, today.
My Take:
I think Jesse Owens is the most important athlete in this whole group, and I say that knowing that Carl Lewis won more gold medals, and that Nicklaus won more majors. Owens is the most important because his winning meant more than sport. He won in Berlin, in front of Hitler, and his winning proved that a racist lie was a lie, and that a Black man could be the best in the world. That is not just a sporting achievement. It is a human achievement, and it is one that changed history, and it is one that will be remembered for as long as people tell stories about courage. I admire him more than any other athlete I have written about, because he did something that mattered, not only to him, but to the whole world.
What I admire most about him is his dignity. He was treated badly by his own country, and he did not become bitter, and he did not hate, and he kept going, with grace, and with a belief in America, and in sport, and in young people. I think that is a very hard thing to do. When you are treated unfairly, it is easy to become angry, and it is easy to hate, and it is easy to give up. Owens did none of those things. He worked, he spoke, he helped young people, and he lived with dignity, and that is a lesson I want to remember, because I have been treated unfairly in my own life, in small ways, and I know how hard it is not to become bitter. Owens shows me that it is possible, and that dignity is a choice, and a good choice.
His Day of Days in 1935, when he set three world records and tied a fourth in forty-five minutes, while suffering from a bad back, is a moment I think about a lot, because it shows what a person can do when they refuse to give up. He had fallen down a flight of stairs, he could barely walk, and his coach wanted him to withdraw, but he insisted on competing, and he did something that has never been matched. That is a story about courage, and about believing in yourself, even when your body is hurting, and even when other people tell you to stop. I think about that when I feel pain, or when I feel tired, and I want to give up. Owens did not give up, and he made history, and that gives me hope that I can keep going too, when I need to.
His friendship with Luz Long moves me deeply, because it is a story about two men who should have been enemies, and who became friends instead. Long was German, blond, and tall, the kind of athlete Hitler wanted to celebrate. Owens was Black, American, and the opposite of what Hitler wanted. But on the track, they helped each other, and they respected each other, and they became friends, and Long died in the war, and Owens never forgot him. That is a beautiful story, and it is a reminder that people are people, no matter what their government tells them, and that friendship can grow even in the worst places. I hope we all remember that, when the world tries to divide us. We are not enemies. We are people, and we can be friends, just as Owens and Long were friends.
I also think about his homecoming, and about how sad it was that America did not honour him. He won four gold medals, and he came home to a parade, but not to the White House, and not to a job, and not to a life of comfort. He had to race against horses to earn money, and he had to work hard to support his family, and that is a shameful thing for a country to do to a hero. I think about that, and I feel angry, and I feel sad, because Owens deserved better, and America knew it, and America did not do it, for forty years, until the Medal of Freedom in 1976. That is too late, and it is not fair, but Owens did not let it make him bitter, and that is a testament to his character. He believed in America, even when America did not believe in him, and that is a generous and brave thing to do.
If I had to pick one lesson from his life, it would be to run your race, even when the world is against you, and to do it with dignity. Owens ran his race in Berlin, and he won, and he did it with dignity, and he changed the world, a little, and for the better. I want to run my race, in my own life, with dignity, even when things are hard, and even when people do not honour me. That is a lesson that works for an athlete, and for a labourer, and for anyone who has ever been told they are not good enough. You are good enough, and you can prove it, by running, by working, and by winning, in your own way, just as Owens did.
In the end, I think Jesse Owens will be remembered as a hero, not only of sport, but of humanity, because he stood up to a lie, and he beat it, with his feet, and with his heart. He was a sharecropper’s son from Alabama, who became the fastest man in the world, and who won four gold medals in Berlin, and who came home to injustice, and who lived with dignity, and who died a hero. That is a remarkable life, and it is one I am honoured to have written about. The boy who was called Jesse by mistake became a name the whole world knows, and he earned that name, not by luck, but by running, by jumping, and by being a good man. I hope we never forget him, and I hope young people read his story and learn that sport can change the world, and that one person can make a difference.
I will finish by saying that his story reminds me to be brave, to be dignified, and to believe that the truth is stronger than a lie. Hitler told a lie, and Owens beat it, by running fast, and by jumping far, and by being himself. That is a powerful message, and it is one I will carry with me for the rest of my life. Jesse Owens ran, and the world watched, and the world learned, and that is a story worth telling, again and again, for as long as people run, and jump, and dream of being free.
I keep thinking about his teacher, Charles Riley, and about the way a good teacher can change a life. Riley noticed a boy who could run fast, and he coached him in the mornings, before school, for free, because he believed in him, and because he wanted to help him. That is a small act, and a large act, because it gave Owens a start, and a belief in himself, and a skill that would take him to Berlin, and to history. I think about the teachers in my own life, and about what they gave me, and I am grateful, because a good teacher is a gift, and Riley was a gift to Owens, and Owens never forgot him, and he spoke about him with love, for the rest of his life. I hope every child has a Riley, a teacher who notices, and who helps, and who believes, because that is how great lives begin, in a classroom, in the morning, before school, with a kind man, and a fast boy.
There is another part of his story that stays with me, and it is his wife Ruth, and the way she supported him, through Berlin, and through the hard years after, when he came home to injustice, and had to work hard to make a living. Ruth was the steady centre, and she kept their family together, and she loved him, for forty-five years, and that is a remarkable partnership, and a reminder that behind every great athlete, there is often a person who loves them, and who believes in them, and who makes their success possible, by giving them a home, and a family, and a reason to keep going. I think about my own family, and about the people who support me, and I am grateful, because their support is a powerful thing, and it can carry a person further than they could go alone, just as Ruth carried Jesse, from Cleveland, to Berlin, and back home again.
I also think about the stadium at Ohio State, named after him, and about the young athletes who run there today, and who dream of being like Jesse Owens. That is a wonderful legacy, to have a place where young people run, and jump, and dream, and where your name is on the stadium, and your story is told, to every new generation. I hope those young athletes learn from Owens, not only how to run fast, but how to live with dignity, and how to handle injustice with grace, and how to believe in themselves, even when the world tells them they are not good enough. Those are lessons that matter more than any record, and they are lessons that Owens taught, by living them, in Berlin, and in America, and in his whole life.
Finally, I think about the word Jesse, and about how it came from a mistake, a teacher mishearing J.C., and writing down Jesse, and how that mistake became a name the whole world knows. That is a lovely accident, and it is a reminder that life is full of accidents, and that some of them become gifts, if we accept them, and if we make them our own. Owens made Jesse his own, and he wore it with pride, and he made it famous, and he made it a name that means courage, and speed, and dignity, and freedom. I think about the accidents in my own life, and about how they became gifts, and I am grateful for them, because they made me who I am, just as that small mistake in a Cleveland classroom made James Cleveland Owens into Jesse Owens, a hero, and a legend, and a man the world will never forget. I also think about the way Owens handled his homecoming, and about how he came home to a parade, but not to the White House, and not to a job, and not to a life of comfort, and how he had to race against horses to earn money, and how he did not become bitter, and did not hate, and kept working, and kept believing in America, and in sport, and in young people. That is a very hard thing to do, and it is a human thing, and it is a lesson I want to remember, because I have been treated unfairly in my own life, in small ways, and I know how easy it is to become bitter, and how hard it is not to. Owens shows me that it is possible, and that dignity is a choice, and a good choice, and that a person can be treated badly, and still choose to be good, and to be kind, and to be hopeful, and that is a powerful message, and one I will carry with me.
There is something else I want to say, about the way he became a successful businessman in later life, working in public relations in Chicago, and becoming a speaker, and a writer, and a voice for sport, and for young people, and how he rebuilt his life, after Berlin, and after the hard years, and how he did it with grace, and with hard work, and without complaining. That is a story about resilience, and about starting again, and about not letting a bad beginning, or a bad homecoming, define the rest of your life. Owens started again, and he succeeded, in business, and in life, and he became a respected man, and a beloved figure, and that is a wonderful ending, to a story that began in poverty, in Alabama, and that went through Berlin, and through injustice, and through hard work, to a life of dignity, and success, and respect.
I think about his daughters, too, and about the way they accepted the Congressional Gold Medal on his behalf, in 1990, ten years after his death, and how they spoke about their father with love, and with pride, and how they said that he would have been happy to know that America had finally honoured him. That is a sad and happy moment, and it is a reminder that honour can come late, and that it can come after a person is gone, and that it still matters, to their family, and to their memory, and to history. I hope Owens knew, in his heart, that he was a hero, even when America did not honour him, because he was, and he is, and he will always be, a hero, to anyone who knows his story, and who understands what he did, in Berlin, in 1936, in front of Hitler, and the world.
Finally, I want to say that I hope young people read Jesse Owens’s story, in schools, and in books, and in films, and learn that sport can change the world, and that one person can make a difference, even when the world is against them, and even when the odds are great. Owens was a sharecropper’s son, who became the fastest man in the world, and who won four gold medals, and who changed history, with his feet, and with his heart, and that is a story that gives hope to every child who is poor, and who is told they are not good enough, and who dreams of being great. You can be great, Owens shows us, if you run, and jump, and work, and believe, and if you do it with dignity, and with grace, and with a belief that the truth is stronger than a lie.
Frequently Asked Questions
How many gold medals did Jesse Owens win at Berlin in 1936?
He won four gold medals at the Berlin Olympics: the 100 metres, the 200 metres, the long jump, and the 4x100 metres relay. It matched the feat that Carl Lewis would repeat in Los Angeles in 1984, forty-eight years later.
Where was Jesse Owens born and how did he get his name?
He was born James Cleveland Owens on 12 September 1913 in Oakville, Alabama, the son of sharecroppers. When the family moved to Cleveland, Ohio, his teacher misheard his initials J.C. as Jesse, and the name stuck for the rest of his life.
What was the Day of Days in 1935?
On 25 May 1935, at a meeting in Ann Arbor, Michigan, Owens set three world records and tied a fourth in forty-five minutes, in the long jump, 220 yards, and 220 yards low hurdles, despite a bad back from a fall. It is still regarded as one of the greatest days any athlete has ever had.
Who was Luz Long and why is he important in Owens’s story?
Luz Long was a German long jumper who competed against Owens in Berlin and became his friend, giving him advice on his run-up during the competition. Long was later killed in the Second World War, and Owens kept his memory alive and spoke about him with love for the rest of his life.
Why was Jesse Owens not honoured by America after Berlin?
President Franklin Roosevelt did not invite him to the White House, and Owens was not given the opportunities white athletes received, because of racism in America at the time. He had to work hard to support his family, and he was only awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 1976, forty years later.
When did Jesse Owens die and how was he honoured after his death?
He died on 31 March 1980 in Tucson, Arizona, at the age of sixty-six. In 1990, ten years after his death, he was awarded the Congressional Gold Medal posthumously, and his daughters accepted it on his behalf.
