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Jesse Owens F a m o u s
O h i o a n
By Libby Carpenter 2 013
Jesse Owen’s family were sharecroppers in Alabama
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Jesse Owens F a m o u s
O h i o a n
Jesse Owens was born on September 12, 1913 in Alabama. Jesse was the tenth child of Henry and Emma Owens. His family were sharecroppers in Oakville, Alabama. Jesse was a sickly child because his lungs were not strong.
In 1922 Henry Owens sold is mule so his family could move to Ohio. They wanted to find steady work. His dad couldn’t find a job so Jesse could not go to college.
Jesse went to Bolton Elementary School in Cleveland, Ohio. Then he went to Fairmont Jr. High School. He started track there. Finally he went to Cleveland Technical High School and still ran track.
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Jesse Owens F a m o u s
O h i o a n
Ohio State University wanted Jesse to come to school and join the track team. Jesse said no because he had to work. He wanted to go and be on the track team. The coach wanted Jesse to be on the team so bad he helped Jesse’s dad get a job as a janitor at the school. Jesse got to go to school and be on the track team. Jesse broke three world records and tied another. He got the name “Buckeye Bullet”. From then on that’s what he was called.
Jesse was in the 1936 Olympics he won four gold medals. Hitler, the leader of Germany was mad that so many African Americans were in the Olympics. He thought that blacks were not equal to whites. He thought that all the whites would win in all the events and prove him right. Jesse and a lot of other athletes, many of them African Americans, won medals and that made Hitler mad.
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Jesse Owens F a m o u s
O h i o a n
Jesse had many jobs. He owned businesses, worked in park and recreation departments, was hired by Ford Motor Company, and worked in public relations. He also wrote books. His first book was called Blackthink which he wrote in 1970. The book said that African Americans didn’t get ahead because they didn’t want to. That made people mad. His second book was I Have Changed which he wrote in 1972. In this book he apologized for some of the things he said in his first book.
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Jesse Owens f a m o u s
O h i o a n
In 1935 Jesse married Ruth Solomon. They had three daughters Gloria, Marlene, and Beverly.
After Jesse died on March 31, 1980 a Memorial Plaza was dedicated to him outside Ohio State Stadium on May 4, 1984.