Sunday, February 28, 2016

A Sports Curator at the Smithsonian Unpacks the Myths and Reality in the Film "Race

"James “J.C.” Cleveland Owens, one of the fastest men on earth, was born into an impoverished family of sharecroppers in Oakville, Alabama, in 1913. The family moved to Ohio when Owens was 9, in search of a better life. He acquired his nickname Jesse after feeling too shy to correct a teacher who pronounced his name “Jey-See.”
Money was incredibly tight in the Owens household. As a child, his mother had to remove a large lump on his chest with a kitchen knife because they couldn’t afford to take him for surgery. Owens survived the makeshift procedure, despite losing a lot of blood, and went on to become a legend.
The recently released film Race focuses on Owens’ college years leading up to the 1936 Olympics held in Berlin under Nazi Germany, where he won four gold medals..."
Jesse Owens

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