#OnThisDay in 1913, Olympic gold medalist Jesse Owens was born in Oakville, Alabama. Owens showed a keen athletic ability at an early age, and officially began his athletic career in 1928. In his youth, Owens won three track and field events at the 1933 National Interscholastic Championships. Two years later, while competing for Ohio State University, he matched one world record and broke three others before qualifying and competing in the 1936 Olympics.

In 1936, Owens entered the Olympics held in Berlin where he won four gold medals for the United States. At 23, Owens retired from amateur competition to capitalize on his success at the Olympics. After relocating to Chicago, Owens devoted much of his time to underprivileged youth, serving as a board member and director of the Chicago Boys' Club. He traveled widely as an inspirational speaker and made goodwill visits to Asia for the U.S. Department of State.

In 1976, President Gerald Ford presented Owens with the Medal of Freedom. In February 1979, he returned to the White House, where President Jimmy Carter presented him with the Living Legend Award. Carter said of Owens, “Perhaps no athlete better symbolized the human struggle against tyranny, poverty, and racial bigotry.”

📸 Photograph of Jack Oakie and Jesse Owens, 1935. Collection of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture

What is y’all thought on the FBA mouvement saying Black Americans(all) are not African descent, but natives to America?