As Americans, many of us are familiar with the athletic accomplishments of Jesse Owens. Jesse Owens, born September 12, 1913 to Henry and Emma Alexandra Owens, was the 10th child born to Henry and Emma in Oakville, Alabama. The Owens family were sharecroppers until they eventually moved to Cleveland, Ohio.
So… what is a sharecropper and why might that be important? In a PBS Special entitled; Slavery by Another Name, here is how sharecropping is described: After the Civil War, former slaves sought jobs, and planters sought laborers. The absence of cash or an independent credit system led to the creation of sharecropping. Sharecropping is a system where the landlord/planter allows a tenant to use the land in exchange for a share of the crop. This encouraged tenants to work to produce the biggest harvest that they could, and ensured they would remain tied to the land and unlikely to leave for other opportunities.
Suffice it to say – Jesse Owens grew up in poverty. Not only did Jesse, as a child, live in poverty, but Jesse lived at a time when being black in America was extremely difficult. Prejudice and discrimination were ever present in the lives of black Americans during this period in our history.
Jesse however, was blessed that he grew up in an intact family; a family that stayed together through thick and thin. Jesse’s parents were married for 44 years until the death of Henry (Jesse’s father) in 1942. I suspect that this family environment fostered many of the admirable character traits Jesse displayed throughout his lifetime. One of those traits being Jesse’s determination to find the good in people. A quote attributed to Jesse that exemplifies his remarkable outlook on life was: “Find the good. It’s all around you. Find it, showcase it and you’ll start believing in it.” As we get on with this story – that quote becomes even more meaningful!
Jesse’s exceptional abilities in track and field were apparent from the time he was in junior high school. He set records in both the high jump and long jump while in junior high and later in high school, he set records in the 100 and the 220 yard dash.
Despite having to deal with racial discrimination as a student at Ohio State University, Jesse continued to set records in track and field and he eventually received national and international recognition for his unique abilities. His success in college led to an opportunity to represent America in the 1936 Berlin Olympics which were hosted by Germany. At that time, Adolf Hitler was the leader of Germany. Hitler was a proponent of the superiority of the Aryan race. It has been well documented that Hitler would have preferred not to have had Black or Jewish athletes at the 1936 Olympics. A historic showdown was about to occur in Germany between many exceptional athletes from around the globe including Germany’s premier long jumper “Luz” Long.
Now – who was Carl Ludwig Hermann “Luz” Long? Luz was born in Leipzig, Germany to Carl and Joanna Long. Carl was a pharmacist and Joanna, a qualified English teacher. Luz eventually went on to law school and became a lawyer practicing in Hamburg. Luz was born into a middle / upper middle class family in Germany while Jesse was born into a poor black family in the deep south in America.
Despite the paths in their lives being dramatically different, one commonality was their exceptional ability as long jumpers. Going into the Olympics, Jesse held the world record in the long jump while Luz held the European record.
On the day of the Olympic competition (August 4, 1936), both jumpers performed amazingly. It was said that their competition brought out the best in both athletes. In the end, Jesse finished with a jump of 8.06 meters while Luz finished with a jump of 7.87 meters. The gold medal went to Jesse Owens and that is where this story really begins.
In front of 100,000 people, the defeated Luz Long was the first person to heartily congratulate Jesse Owens on his victory. Their handshake was followed by the two walking arm in arm before adoring fans. This “spectacle” took place in front of Hitler who was powerless to stop this affront to his premise of the superiority of the Aryan race.
The following video addresses the mutual respect and admiration between Owens and Long. Take a look:
What was on display that day was more than sportsmanship; what was on display was courage. What we saw from both Jesse Owens and Luz Long was the courage to boldly profess the God given inherent value of all people! The following quote by Maya Angelou is quite appropriate:
Without courage we cannot practice any other virtues with consistency. We can’t be kind, true, merciful, generous, or honest.
At this juncture, some of you may be asking – isn’t this supposed to be a blog about listening. In my opinion, this is about listening; it is about listening with your heart. It is about listening to that inner voice which is commonly referred to as your conscience.
May God bless all those reading this post with the grace and dignity that was displayed by Jesse Owens and Luz Long!
Your thoughts please??
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