Jesse Owens and the 1936 Olympics

The 1936 Olympics were in Berlin, Germany, during the rule of Adolf Hitler. Hitler hoped to use the Olympics to show the superior prowess of the German athletes. He wanted to deny Jewish and black athletes the right to participate in the Olympics.

Jesse Owens was a successful track and field athlete at Ohio State University and held several world records. He, along with several other African-American athletes, was selected for the United States Olympic team. Though the International Olympic Committee finally forced the Germans to allow all those who were qualified to participate, many in the United States suggested that Owens and other athletes should boycott the games.

Walter White, the director of the NAACP, was one of those who spoke out against Owens’ participation. In a 1936 letter that was never sent to Owens, White wrote that, “It is my firm conviction that the issue of participation in the 1936 Olympics, if held in Germany under the present regime, transcends all other issues. Participation by American athletes, and especially by those of our own race which has suffered more than any other from American race hatred, would, I firmly believe, do irreparable harm.”
Letter from Walter White to Jesse Owens 12/4/1935

A life history written as part of the Federal Writer’s Project quotes Owens as responding to critics, “After all, since we are all Americans, Negroes should have a chance in every sport. Certainly the showing of Negroes in track events shows that if they have half a chance, they produce the goods”.

Jesse Owens won four Olympic medals in the 1936 Olympics, confirming that he could “produce the goods.” Others have won as many medals, but few experienced the kind of pressure Owens did.

This Is Your Life TV Program featuring Jesse Owens

Benjamin Hooks interviewed by Richard D. Heffner on Affirmative Action (The Open Mind) 1983

 In 1983 Benjamin Hooks was interviewed on the program "The Open Mind" on the subject of Civil Rights and the effects of affirmative action laws. Listen to mr. Hooks and see if you think his assessment of the state of affirmative action is on target.  Hooks offers some interesting solutions and makes some interesting comparisons re: making affirmative action work. Do you believe any of these solutions have been earnestly attempted.

 They discuss the subject of activist American leadership. Where are the contemporary leadership going to come from? Who do you think has stood out from the crowd since that time?

 Thirty years later can you see any points that Mr. Hooks was missing?  What about mass incarceration do you think it's possible that affirmative action caused mainstream-Americans overlook the incarceration of many young African-Americans, in order to remove them from the affirmative action formula?

James Baldwin Would Be 92 Years Old Today

James Baldwin, was a writer and civil rights activist. He was born on August 2, 1924 and died on December 1, 1987. James (Arthur) Baldwin

"Novelist, essayist, and playwright James Baldwin was born on August 2, 1924, in New York City. The eldest of nine children, Baldwin grew up in poverty-stricken Harlem, where his stepfather was a preacher. Between the ages of fourteen and eighteen, Baldwin himself preached at a small revivalist church, the Fireside Pentecostal. His first and most critically acclaimed novel, Go Tell It on the Mountain (1953), was inspired by his experiences there.

Baldwin was heavily influenced by his Harlem middle school-French teacher, famed poet Countee Cullen. Cullen, who obtained his master's degree from Harvard University, was a leader of the Harlem Renaissance (also known as the New Negro Movement), a flourishing of artistic expression that emerged from the community of Harlem in New York City in the 1920s. Cullen devoted himself to the education of children in the last period of his life, and concentrated on teaching and writing children's books. He opened up a new world of literary and artistic possibilities for black youth in Harlem, including James Baldwin.

Harlem's millionairess, Alelia Walker, whose mother made her fortune with kink-no-more preparations, about this time became imbued with the desire to aid struggling artists. She set aside a floor of her town house at 208 West One Hundred and Thirty-sixth Street to be used as a studio for art exhibits, poetry recitals and musicales. Countee Cullen suggested Dark Tower as the name for this shrine of Harlem art and both he and Langston Hughes had poems inscribed on the walls."

(see more from the Library of Congress)

100 years of freedom / James Baldwin.

Haiti and The Dominican Republic - The Roots of Division (Massacre River)

Professor Skip Gates presents this informative video demonstrating the the complex relationship between Haiti and The Dominican Republic and their equally complex relationship to Africa.

Africa in Latin America

We need to be aware of the history of all Africans that were "Stolen from Africa" if we are going to tell our story the way it actually happened. It's time once and for all, that we research and tell our story and get on with the business of establishing ourselves in these countries where we've been for so many generations.