SONAHR: February 21, 2016 – This weekend, a movie about legendary track-and-field star Jesse Owens made its debut. The title of the film is Race, and it chronicles the life of Owens from his early years to his four-gold-medal triumph at the 1936 Summer Olympics in Berlin. The title of the film has a double meaning, referring not only to the races run at track meets, but also to the issue of race as a social and political powder keg.
Adolf Hitler and his Nazis had intended the Berlin Olympics to be a showcase for the supremacy of white ? especially ?Aryan? German ? athletes. Owens, an African American, upset Hitler?s racial applecart by winning four gold medals, in the long jump, 100 and 200 meter dashes, and the 4×100 meter relay. His presence at the top of the podium effectively punctured the myth of Aryan athletic superiority.
Owens?s stellar performance also provided a counterpoint to a setback for an athlete in a different sport that had occurred less than two months before the Olympics, which were held in August of 1936. On June 19 of that year, Joe Louis, an undefeated African American heavyweight contender who was touted as a future champion, stepped into the ring to face Max Schmeling, a German ex-champion who was thought to be past his prime. In an upset that was as shocking then as Buster Douglas?s defeat of Mike Tyson was in 1990, Schmeling battered Louis en route to a knockout in the 12th round. Jubilation reigned in Germany in the wake of that unexpected outcome. America, on the other hand, was stunned. And black Americans, who had invested their hopes and dreams in the fists of the young fighter known as the ?Brown Bomber,? reeled in devastation and despair.
For Hitler?s regime, the Olympics were intended to provide icing for the cake Schmeling?s victory had produced. German track stars were expected to reap a bonanza of gold medals, leaving the rest of the world gasping in the dust. They were supposed to easily overcome black American athletes such as Owens, Ralph Metcalfe, and Mack Robinson (older brother of baseball pioneer Jackie Robinson), and burnish the image of the almighty Aryan.
But Owens and his compatriots scraped away the icing and crumbled the cake. Those who were saddened by Schmeling?s defeat of Louis were gladdened by Owens?s gold medals, which he won in the heart of Nazi Germany, under the nose of Adolf Hitler himself.
Two years later, Louis ? who had become heavyweight champion by knocking out Jim Braddock ? gained his revenge by annihilating Schmeling in the first round of a title defense. It was America?s turn to cheer, and Germany?s turn to mourn. The victory served as Louis?s equivalent to Owens?s Olympic triumphs.
Louis and Owens became lifelong friends, sharing the ups and downs of their successes and failures during and after their time of athletic stardom. They both died in their mid-60s in 1981. Memories of their feats in the athletic arena will live on.
Race is a fitting tribute to the achievements of Jesse Owens. Earlier, the movie 42 paid homage to Jackie Robinson, who broke Major League Baseball?s color line in 1947. The life, times, and accomplishments of Joe Louis cry out for similar cinematic recognition. Hopefully, there?s a ?Brown Bomber? biopic on Hollywood?s horizon.
