It’s hard to believe there has never been a feature length film made about Jesse Owens until the film Race.
Born James Cleveland Owens in Alabama, his family moved to Ohio for better opportunities than what they experienced in the South. A teacher not understanding the young J.C.share his name because of his accent thought his name was Jesse. He was too shy to correct her, and the name stuck.
The story of Jesse Owens is remarkable as the soft-spoken 10th child in the Owens family (son of a sharecropper and grandson of a slave) won 4 gold medals in Berlin in front of the racist and fascist Hitler and the Nazis.
Two of my favorite quotes from Jesse Owens include:
- “One chance is all you need.”
- “It all goes so fast, and character makes the difference when it’s close.”
The film captures the challenges Jesse Owens faced and the enormity of his victories at the 1936 Olympics. I highly recommend this film!
The story stays true to the facts according to www.HistoryVsHollywood.com.
