Jesse Owens (#220, Topic G)

I generally just glance at headlines in Washington Post's Sports section. However, one of today's headlines -- Another Owens Runs in Berlin, But on Hardwood, Not Track -- puzzles me, so I read it. It turns out that Another Owens refers to Chris Owens, a basketball player, whose great uncle is Jesse Owens, whose 4 gold medals at the 1936 Olympic Games (100 meters, 200 meters, long jump, and 4x100 meter relay) held in Berlin, made him an icon. It was also the occasion where Hitler refused to shake his hand, as his outstanding performance made a mockery of Aryan supremacy. I, however, did have an occasion to shake Owen's hand. It was 1953, in Chicago, where Owens was the owner-manager of an insurance agency in Chicago's south side. At that time, he was probably in his late 30s; still, he had a very fit physique, and his grip was very firm. I do/did not know how Owens fared as an entrepreneur. I do know that, at that time, discrimination in Chicago was rampant. I recall vividly my calling a hotel in Chicago's south side (where U of Chicago is located, in the midst of African-American neighborhoods); the reservation clerk would not honor a called-in reservation; I must present myself in person -- meaning, simply, that the hotel would not rent rooms to an African-American. I did not know how I would fare were I to present myself at the reservation desk -- I simply elected not to pursue the matter further. I did, however, have experience from an incident that was quite similar. At that time, I just bought a new car, and it was suggested that I join the American Automobile Association. So I called. Knowing my name, the person at the receiving end of my phone call asked me, point blank, whether I was of Chinese ancestry. Upon hearing my positive answer, he said: "I'm sorry. You cannot join AAA." So, USA -- at least Chicago -- in the 1950s was no better than Germany under Hitler in the 1930s. Enough said.