Jesse Owens: An Influential Role Model

Jesse Owens was a very well known African American track star. He competed on some of the highest levels. Jesse Owens was an important role model for many Americans during the Civil Rights Movement because of where he came from and how he lived his life, he broke several world records in high school and college ("Owens, Jesse."), was a very well known Olympian who won 4 gold medals in the Berlin games of 1936 ("Jesse Owens Biography") and even though Jesse was seen as an unequal to the caucasians, he showed that he could compete on the highest level ("About Jesse Owens"). Jesse Owens, actual name James Cleveland, came from a rough background and tough ancestry ("About Jesse Owens”). He was the son of a sharecropper and grandson of a slave
After great success in the Olympic games, Jesse Owens became known as an unforgettable American hero ("Owens, Jesse."). Jesse Owens continued to get praised even as he retired his amateur career in 1936 ("Owens, Jesse."). He is one of the best remembered Olympic athletes in Olympic history because of accomplishing what no other Olympic athlete had before. He achieved four gold medals at the 1936 Olympic games in Berlin, Germany ("Jesse Owens Biography."). Jesse Owens even has a spot in the Olympic village named after him ("Jesse Owens."). In 1974 he was inducted into the U.S.A. Track and Field Hall of Fame ("Owens, Jesse."). And also 1976 Jesse Owens received a Presidential Medal of Freedom (Klein). And then in 1983 he was inducted into the U.S. Olympic Committee Hall of Fame, a very important achievement and not owned by many Olympians (Klein). In 1990 Jesse Owens received the Congressional Gold Medal After great success in the Olympic games, Jesse Owens became known as an American hero (“Awards And Accomplishments”). So Jesse Owens was a a very well known Olympian has many achievements during and after the 1936 Olympic