Noah Lau

Jorge Cerna

Humanities ⅓

15 April 2019

Case Study: Jesse Owens

In the 1936 Olympic Games in Berlin, Adolf Hitler was in power at the time and wanted

to use the Olympics to show off the Third Reich and the “Aryan’s” excellence in the 1936

games. During these games, an athlete by the name of Jesse Owens competed in these games

where he won four gold medals, preventing Germany from winning more gold medals. Along

with winning these gold medals, Jesse set the scene for talented black athletes. Jesse Owens’ role

in the 1936 Berlin Olympics impacted society with his athletic achievement by inspiring future

athletes.

During the Berlin Games, Jesse shocked Hitler, and made Olympics history by winning

four gold medals. Jesse’s showing at the Olympics made records like the first American track

and field athlete to win four gold medals in one single Olympic and making the long jump record

8.13 meters, which wouldn’t be topped for the next 25 years (Best, p. 3). These accomplishments

are set in history and nothing can change that. Anyone can look up Jesse’s achievements and

learn about his story. With this, Jesse has impacted society by setting a record and continuing to

having some relevance today. Additionally, Jesse had an impact on the German population when

competing against German Lutz Long in the long jump. “The German crowd were cheering for

Jesse and when Jesse won the event, fans mobbed Jesse with Long seeking out Jesse”

(Chamberlain, p. 3). With Jesse beating Long, Jesse partially foiled Hitler’s plan on showing

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how much better the “Aryan” race was compared to everyone else. Jesse’s performance showed

some of the fallacies in Hitler’s statement about Aryan racial superiority which, while didn’t peel

the German population away from the Third Reich, exposed the truth. Along with this, Jesse

greatly impacted American society.

At first when Jesse comes back from the Berlin games, he doesn’t receive as much fame

and glory compared to current Olympic gold medalists. Jesse however did get credit when he

became a motivational speaker and public relations representative (Best, p. 4). Jesse was able to

create a career after being financially unstable without directly using his gold medalist as a way

to make money. Stories like these can inspire people to do the same and have hope, which has an

impact on society. In addition, people have told these stories in new films like “Race”. Jesse has

impacted society, because without his story, people wouldn’t have filmed a movie about him.

This film has the potential to inspire thousands of people and filming this movie gave those who

worked on it an opportunity to prove themselves as a filmmaker in society.

Jesse Owens’ life has impacted society in a magnitude of ways. Jesse broke Olympics

records and inspired others with his athletic ability. This proves the point that Jesse’s role in the

Berlin games has changed society.

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 Works Cited

Best, Tamara ​Jesse Owens:A Chilly Reception in Nazi Germany, Then Olympic Glory

Chamberlain, Craig ​‘Race:’ A Historian looks at Jesse Owens’ Impacts on Germany and the U.S.

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