12 October 2020
In the late nineteenth century and early twentieth century, American states in the south passed Jim Crow laws, which enforced racial segregation in public facilities. African Americans were seen as inferior, and were thought to be unable to succeed, and in extreme cases, not even human. In the 1930s, the American South was “entirely segregated, lynchings [were] still relatively commonplace, and blacks mired in perpetual poverty made even worse by the Depression” (Margolick, 2005, p. 63). With these conditions, it is no surprise that “prospects of most black athletes remained dim” (Margolick, 2005, p. 63). African American athletes had to face racist actions and laws that were not in their favor. As historian Cindy Himes Gissendanner (1996) states, “racism negatively affected black women’s [and men’s] athletic opportunities, their training and performances, and their lives after retirement” (p. 172). Teams backed by white businesses or companies were not open to African Americans. African American athletes believed that they had “‘to be ten times as good as those of the other race,’” as their talents could not buy them the same treatment their white counterparts had, even if they were better than them. In their daily training, many black athletes had restrictive rules not only in athletics, but also in social and academic spheres. They had to adopt behaviors that contradict the cultural traditions of the black working class in order for the press and public to take a liking to them (Gissendanner, 1996, p. 175). African Americans were looked down on to the point that if an athlete started to succeed, it would “raise alarms in Jim Crow America” (Margolick, 2005, p. 62). With these barriers in place, black athletes needed a way to prove themselves.
Just a few years before the outbreak of World War II, the 1936 Berlin Summer Olympics was controversial, but at the same time, monumental. This was especially the case for African American athletes who competed. Each of them combatted similar situations and overcame numerous barriers in order to have a once in a lifetime chance on the Olympic stage. Despite being treated unfairly and affected by the political issues during that time period, their efforts in the Berlin Olympics proved to the world that they were not inferior, therefore inspiring the new generation of athletes to chase their dreams in sport, and gradually paving the way for social change.
The United States team for the Berlin Olympics consisted of eighteen African American athletes, all with a common goal: to prove that they are not inferior to whites, to be seen as human, and to disprove Hitler on the international stage (Draper, 2016). While black athletes had their own motivation for participating in the Games, Germany also had their own plans as well. With the world coming to Berlin, Hitler seized the Olympics as an opportunity for pro-Germany propaganda. He demanded that the press only publish positive stories about the athletes, especially black athletes (Draper, 2016). Woodruff stated that the Germans “‘treated [the black athletes] royally… They were very friendly, very accommodating, very gracious, very cordial. They were considerate in every respect’” (Large, 2007, p. 234). Jesse Owens, four time gold medalist at the Berlin Olympics, was able to form a friendship with German long jumper Luz Long. Long even gave Owens encouragement during the competition, which led to Owens winning gold (Large, 2007). In these circumstances, it seemed like black athletes were treated better in Germany than in America. However, this does not mean that black athletes were free from racism or discrimination. When black athletes won their events, Hitler failed to personally congratulate them due to his belief in white supremacy (Large, 2007, p. 230). Howell King, a black boxer, was sent home prematurely after being falsely associated with four other white teammates of attempting to steal cameras from a store. King told the New York Herald Tribune that the reason why he was sent home was purely “‘because of racial prejudice’” (Church King, 1936). King’s wasn’t the only case of racial prejudice at the Games. Tidye Pickett and Louis Stokes, two African American athletes on the women’s track and field team, were replaced at the last minute in the four hundred meter relay by two white athletes who were slower than them.
The athletes had to confront unfairness and racism, but that did not stop those who had a chance to compete from performing their best. The African American athletes of the United States track and field team brought back home thirteen Olympic medals in track and field, “accounting for 83 of America’s 107 points” (Large, 2007). John Woodruff, gold medalist of the eight hundred meters, said of his experience and motivation:
My only objective was any time I got into a race was to win. And that’s what I did. Determination. That’s what it takes. Light a fire in the stomach. I was winning for me and I was winning for the country. Me first, then the country. It was very definitely a special feeling in winning the gold medal and being a black man. We destroyed his [Hitler’s] master race theory, whenever we start winning those gold medals. So I was very proud of that achievement and I was very happy, for myself as an individual, for my race, and for my country. (United States Holocaust Memorial Museum)
Woodruff topped the podium in his event, and felt pride for himself, his people, and country. Similarly, other black athletes dominated their events as well. Mack Robinson won silver in the two hundred meter dash. Ralph Metcalfe earned silver in the one hundred meter event. Metcalfe and Owens later went on to help the U.S. win the four hundred meter relay. Archie Williams won the gold in the four hundred meter event, with James Luvalle clutching the bronze. Cornelius Johnson and Dave Albritton took the gold and silver in the high jump, respectively. And finally, Fritz Pollard Jr. took the bronze medal in the one hundred ten meter hurdles. It was no doubt that African American athletes were the best athletes in their field at the Olympics. They successfully disproved Hitler’s and the rest of the world’s white supremacy beliefs.
In the face of adversity that plagued the country and the world, the African American athletes’ performance at the Olympics sparked a change in how society viewed them, but only gradually. Coming back home with successful results from the Olympics, many African American athletes expected a change in how they were treated. However, that was not the case, as recalled by Jesse Owens, in his autobiography I Have Changed:
After I came home from the 1936 Olympics with my four medals, it became increasingly apparent that everyone was going to slap me on the back, want to shake my hand or have me up to their suite. But no one was going to offer me a job. (Owens, 1972)
Owens’s teammates also struggled with finding employment after the Games. Mack Robinson returned home to a job of sweeping floors at night (Draper, 2016). Woodruff came home as an Olympic champion but wasn’t allowed to run in his college, the Naval Academy (United States Holocaust Memorial Museum). Owens and his fellow black athletes were celebrated as equals while on the Olympic stage, but returned to the United States as second-class citizens (Margolick, 2005, p. 63: Draper, 2016) Owens even stated that President Roosevelt was the one “who had shown him disrespect at his moment of triumph,” refusing to acknowledge the medals that Owens brought back to America (Large, 2007, p. 233). Even with all of their achievements, American attitudes towards blacks were hard to change.
However, the African American athletes at the Berlin Olympics left behind a legacy that impacted and gradually helped shape future generations of athletes. Many later athletes have cited these athletes as a source of inspiration. Mack Robinson was a major inspiration for his younger brother Jackie Robinson, who was later able to break the “color barrier” in major league baseball, starting the end of racial segregation in sports. Olympians Herb Douglas and Harrison Dillard recounted that Owens was their hero growing up; Dillard said that meeting Owens was, “the greatest thing in the world” and even told his mother that, “[he wanted] to be just like [Owens]” (Metcalfe, 2019). To further add to the impact that these athletes had on future generations, Jesse Owens has a statue made in his honor, located in his hometown of Cleveland, Ohio (Oreh, 2012). More recently, Carl Lewis, nine time Olympic champion, has stated that Owens was an athletic inspiration and that Owens’s story was also “the foundation for [Lewis] to try to become an activist in the sport” (ESPN, 2019).
Like Lewis, many athletes saw the events of the 1936 Olympics as the beginning of a major social movement. It was the first time that African American athletes were shown in a positive spotlight. During the time period of the Berlin Olympics, African Americans struggled with legitimacy. Over time this helped build the bridge for the struggle of access, and finally integrated into nonviolent direct action of the Civil Rights Movement (Draper, 2016). Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., leader of the Civil Rights Movement, stated, “Jackie Robinson made my success possible. Without him, I would never have been able to do what I did” (1968). Robinson’s presence in a white-dominated sport was proof of Dr. King’s statement that blacks and whites were equals on the same playing field. If the athletes were not sent to the 1936 Olympics, there might have not been a Jackie Robinson and the integration of sports would likely have been much later. Today, with the strong presence of social media, many athletes use their platforms to write their own narratives and to promote social change. With millions of followers and fans on their social media accounts, elite athletes are able to encourage people to take action against injustice. In 2016, NBA basketball players Carmelo Anthony, LeBron James, Chris Paul and Dwyane Wade “gave an anti-violence speech… and expressed their support of the values behind the Black Lives Matter movement” (Copeland, 2016). Athletes encourage their supporters to follow in their footsteps to promote social change, therefore interlacing sports with social movements.
It is no question that the achievements of the eighteen African American athletes at the 1936 Berlin Summer Olympics were monumental. In a period when white supremacy was prevalent, they were able to overcome barriers to bring pride to their nation and their people, showing the world that they were not to be looked down upon. Their success at the Olympics had an immediate effect on other African Americans and gradually paved the way for the new generation of black athletes and advocates.
References:
Large, D. C. (2007). VII. Darktown Parade. Nazi Games: the Olympics of 1936. W. W. Norton & Company, Inc.
Margolick, D. (2005). III. A Star Rises in the Midwest. Beyond Glory: Joe Louis Vs. Max Schmeling and a World on the Brink. A. A. Knopf
Margolick, D. (2005). VI. The Condemned Man. Beyond Glory: Joe Louis Vs. Max Schmeling and a World on the Brink. A. A. Knopf.
Gissendanner, C. H. (1996). African American Women Olympians: the Impact of Race, Gender, and Class Ideologies, 1932-1968, 67(2), 172-182.
Draper, D. R. (Director). (2016). Olympic Pride, American Prejudice [Film]. Coffee Bluff Pictures.
ESPN. (2019). Interview with Carl Lewis [Interview]. X Games Video Archive; ESPN Internet Ventures. http://www.xgames.com/video/27335202/carl-lewis-describes-how-jesse-owens-inspired-him
Owens, J. (1972). I Have Changed. Morrow.
Church King, Dismissed Boxers Deny Homesickness on Arrival: Latter, Negro, Claims ‘Race Prejudice’ One Reason for Action Against Him. (1936). New York Herald Tribune (1926-1962), 19.
Davis, V. (2019, April 18). The Memory and Legacy of Jackie Robinson Lives on, in Perpetuity. Amsterdam News. http://amsterdamnews.com/news/2019/apr/18/memory-and-legacy-jackie-robinson-lives-perpetuity/
Oral history interview with John Woodruff. (n.d.). United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, Washington, D.C. https://www.ushmm.org/exhibition/olympics/?content=aa_athletes&lang=en
Copeland, K. (2016, July 24). Athletes Using Sports Platforms to Push for Social Change. The Seattle Times. https://www.seattletimes.com/nation-world/athletes-using-sports-platforms-to-push-for-social-change/
Metcalfe, J. (2019, February 12). 1948 Olympics Still Passing Forward Inspiration Jesse Owens. AZCentral. https://www.azcentral.com/story/sports/olympics/2019/02/12/1948-olympians-still-passing-forward-inspiration-jesse-owens/2842526002/
Oreh, N. (2012, June 26). Fort Huntington Park. Cleveland Historical. https://clevelandhistorical.org/items/show/518