Jesse Owens 
1. Have students read about Jesse Owens at http://www.jesseowensmuseum.org and consider the following questions:  
a. What obstacles did Jesse have to overcome in his early life in Alabama? 
b. How did his many athletic accomplishments affect his status as a black man in America? 
 
2. “When I came back to my native country, after all the stories about Hitler, I couldn't ride in the front of the bus. I had to go to the back door. I couldn't live where I wanted. I wasn't invited to shake hands with Hitler, but I wasn't invited to the White House to shake hands with the President, either.” 
 
What reasons did African-American athletes and journalists give for opposing a boycott of the 1936 Olympics?