There have been many famous Olympians throughout history who’ve left a lasting impression upon our world, some of which I’ve been grateful to see leave their mark and others who came along way before my time. But one who still seems to stand the test of time was a humble African-American man by the name of Jesse Owens, who won international fame with four gold medals at the 1936 Summer Olympics in Berlin, Germany. While there have been many other athletes since then who have won just as many medals if not more, what makes Owens story so special was his rise to fame in a time when the color of one’s skin mattered so much to people.
I can honestly say I didn’t know much about Jesse Owens life before heading to the theater recently to see the movie “Race”, which chronicled much of the highlights of his athletic journey to stardom. But when the film’s closing credits began to roll, I couldn’t say that anymore. What I could say though was I now understood why his life’s events were so important to not only the United States, but ultimately the world.
The movie begins with Owens, played quite well by actor Stephan James, saying goodbye to his family as he becomes the first person to head off to college. It’s overly apparent though once he arrives there at his alma mater of Ohio State University (OSU), that others don’t like him or even want him to be there, solely due to him being black. Yet there is one who does look beyond it and embraces Owens, as well as his talent, and that’s Larry Snyder, the coach of OSU’s track and field team, who’s also played quite well by actor Jason Sudekis.
The film goes on to highlight the growth of Snyder’s and Owen’s relationship, including the training that led up to Owens setting three world records and trying a fourth during the Big Ten meet at Ferry Field in Ann Arbor, MI on May 25, 1935, all in the span of 45 minutes, which is a feat still unbroken to this day. While this made Owens a hero to many of his own race and even helped to begin breaking down some of the barriers between whites and blacks in our country, it’s what the movie covers next in his life that helped to change the world and that was his decision to go to Berlin for the 1936 Summer Olympics. As then, the games were being held in a city just as Adolph Hitler was coming to power, who as most know was a man profoundly against Jews and blacks. “Race” then does a superb job showing how Owens would go on to leave his mark there, with a world about to enter a war due to blatant racism and persecution, by winning four gold medals. But even more importantly, as the movie ends, it’s pretty clear that Jesse Owens also would leave a lasting mark within his own country by letting us all know that there are for more important things in life to reflect upon than the color of one’s skin.
I give “Race” four out of five stars and highly recommend it.
Peace, love, light, and joy,
Andrew Arthur Dawson