[go: up one dir, main page]
Scribd
Upload
77 views3 pages

Process Paper

Jesse Owens was an African American track and field athlete who won four gold medals at the 1936 Olympics in Berlin, Germany. Despite facing discrimination in the United States and protests against African American athletes competing, Owens participated in the Olympics to take a stand against racial bigotry. He was able to overcome struggles like growing up in poverty and facing segregation. The student chose Owens as her National History Day topic because she was inspired by his story of perseverance. She created an interactive website that shared Owens' life events, accomplishments, and legacy through text, photos, and videos to illustrate how he made an impact despite the challenges he faced.

Uploaded by

Anonymous OIsWou8dA
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
77 views3 pages

Process Paper

Jesse Owens was an African American track and field athlete who won four gold medals at the 1936 Olympics in Berlin, Germany. Despite facing discrimination in the United States and protests against African American athletes competing, Owens participated in the Olympics to take a stand against racial bigotry. He was able to overcome struggles like growing up in poverty and facing segregation. The student chose Owens as her National History Day topic because she was inspired by his story of perseverance. She created an interactive website that shared Owens' life events, accomplishments, and legacy through text, photos, and videos to illustrate how he made an impact despite the challenges he faced.

Uploaded by

Anonymous OIsWou8dA
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
You are on page 1/ 3

Jesse Owens: Racing Against Discrimination

Chloe Au
Individual Website
Junior Division
Process Paper Word Count: 494

Process Paper
This summer, I watched Race, a movie based on African American athlete Jesse Owens.
It was so inspirational watching him overcome his struggles and making a German friend Luz
Long despite their contrasting backgrounds. However, the bittersweet ending of the movie
showed not every story has a happy ending as Luz Long died in World War II and Jesse Owens
faced segregation in America. I became so encouraged by how he stood up for his beliefs even
though America treated him poorly that I decided to choose Jesse Owens as my NHD topic. The
Holocaust period intrigued me, and it would be compelling to weave both stories of persecution
of Jews in Germany, and discrimination against black people in America. Jesse Owens took a
stand by participating in the 1936 Olympics despite the protests of the Amateur Athletic
Union(AAU) and National Association for the Advancement of Colored People(NAACP).
Jesse Owens is a widely known athlete, as he won four gold medals in the controversial
1936 Olympics. Therefore, there were many biographies about him that I found online which
gave me perspective on his background. I found many primary photographs from the Olympics
through the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum (USHMM) and the Olympic website.
USHMM had pictures of Adolf Hitler and Germany, while the Olympic website offered photos
of Jesse Owens. Through USHMM, I discovered a few videos of the opening ceremonies of the
1936 Olympics. I also watched Olympia Part One: Festival of the Nations, a film produced by
German director Leni Riefenstahl which featured Jesse Owens in various track and field events.
Ohio State University offered many photographs of Owenss post-athletic career such as ARCO
Jesse Owens Games and his trip to the Philippines. Lastly, I created a project outline highlighting

the major events in Jesse Owenss life, as well as significant situations happening during the
time.
The website category was the obvious choice to pick because I wanted an interactive
project so the audience could view videos and click through photo galleries. But I also desired to
write paragraphs about his long-term impact and his taking a stand in history. This combination
led to making a website which I created, using my project outline to see what pages I would
have. I inserted videos of the Olympics and pictures of Jesse Owens throughout his lifetime, as
well as quotes and text about his stand and lasting legacy.
Jesse Owens went to the 1936 Olympics even though the AAU and the NAACP
pressured athletes not to. This showed him taking a stand. He thought dominating at the games
would be an even stronger message towards racial bigotry, and he ultimately emerged victorious.
Owens faced many challenges throughout his life, from being a son of a poor sharecropper, to
being denied equality according to his skin color. Although he was unsuccessful in convincing
others to take actions against racial injustice, he persevered and made a difference through
humanitarian work.

You might also like