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Jesse Owens

by Ryan from New York

“Zoom, Zoom, Zoom! There goes Jesse Owens around the third turn catching up to Sam. Ohhh, I guess Jesse is taking home the gold tonight.” Jesse Owens is a hero to many people for many reasons. For example, he proved to Hitler and many Germans that African Americans are just as good as anyone, no matter if it’s on the track in the Olympics or anywhere else. But it’s not like Hitler actually listened. Jesse also showed to other track stars that hard work, practice and persistence pay off.

Jesse Owens grew up in a very poor family. Jesse had a father and a mother just like most kids, but he also had two older sisters, one younger sister and one older brother. Jesse and the neighborhood kids were always racing, but no one ever wanted to race Jesse because he would always win. Jesse was always the fastest kid on the block. Jesse ran all the way through college.

Jesse Owens had a very difficult life growing up. His family was very poor, and living through the Great Depression did not help any of them out at all. It got worse. His father had a tragic accident, paralyzing his legs. Because he was paralyzed, he was unable to work, so in order to get food on the table, Jesse’s brothers and sisters, as well as Jesse himself, had to drop out of school to work on a farm.

Jesse Owens had three main character traits that made him a very nice, peaceful man. These three traits are the reason why Jesse Owens is remembered today. Jesse Owens was persistent for following his dreams. He was loving for helping out the family when he took jobs to keep food on the table. And he was athletic because he was pretty much the fastest guy in the world. With 5 gold medals from the Olympic games, I’d say he was pretty fast.

Some of the contributions Jesse Owens made to society were that he was an inspiration to many and he showed the importance of taking pride in what you do. He also gave hope to many other African Americans to follow through with their dreams. And with all of his winnings in the Olympics, he was an example to others participating in the games. This just shows how Jesse Owens contributed to America. Remember Jesse not just as anyone, but as a hero. Jesse Owens is my hero.

Page created on 2/3/2005 12:00:00 AM

Last edited 2/3/2005 12:00:00 AM

The beliefs, viewpoints and opinions expressed in this hero submission on the website are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the beliefs, viewpoints and opinions of The MY HERO Project and its staff.