Today's Hours:
By Michael Gardner '25
On October 3, Dr. Damion Thomas visited Framingham State University to discuss the context, pressures, and impact of Jesse Owens competing in the 1936 Olympics. These Olympic Games took place in Germany during Hitler’s rise to power. Owens won four gold medals for the United States, defying the narrative of white supremacy that was so dominant at the time.
Dr. Thomas is the head curator of the sports exhibit at the National Museum of African American History & Culture in Washington D.C. He has a unique and comprehensive understanding of the way in which sports reflect history, particularly amongst the African American community. He began the talk by explaining some broad historical details, including the system of sharecropping that enforced a cycle of abuse on African Americans long after slavery was abolished, and the Great Migration, which resulted in millions of African Americans leaving the south during World War I.
One part of the talk that I found particularly interesting was Dr. Thomas’ explanation of how the American school systems and public viewed physical education at the time. He explained that contemporary schools believed physical and intellectual ability went hand in hand: if you were a good athlete, you would also be a good student. In response to this supposed relationship, many African Americans proved themselves to be impressive athletes in the hopes that it might open up more opportunities for them in the intellectual sphere. However, once white America had seen this, they moved the goalposts in order to maintain the myth of white supremacy.
This shift resulted in the rise of biological determinism. Biological determinism is the concept that different races have different abilities that can be attributed to biological factors. Historically in the United States, this concept has been used as a platform to claim natural intellectual ability for white Americans and natural physical ability for African Americans. Biological determinism has since been proven to be pseudoscience, but its effect on the United States was a further reinforcement of white supremacy.
Dr. Thomas discussed how Owens was seen as a hero in the United States, but he was still mistreated by white Americans. He was forced to participate in professional sports at a time when professional sports were looked down on. Nevertheless, Owens’ accomplishments are still remembered to this day and Dr. Thomas receives more questions about him than he does about current Olympic athletes. Despite the overwhelming obstacles he faced, Jesse Owens pushed back and has managed to keep his name relevant almost 90 years after those famous Olympic Games.
0 Comments.