Jesse Owens

Jesse Owens' victories at the 1936 Berlin Olympics made him an international sports hero, and a symbol of the civil rights movement. His friendship with the German long jumper Carl 'Luz' Long also stood as an outward act of defiance against Adolf Hitler, and fuelled condemnation of the racial ideology of the Third Reich. However, his life away from the Olympics is less widely understood, as are the challenges that he faced back in the United States.

Today we're joined by David Lee Morgan Jr., a sportswriter and author of the children's book series 'Black Trailblazers in Sports'. Dan and David outline the context of Owens' storied Olympic wins and ask why a man received as a hero abroad was treated like a second-class citizen at home.

Produced by James Hickmann and edited by Dougal Patmore.

Enjoy unlimited access to award-winning original documentaries that are released weekly and AD-FREE podcasts. Get a subscription for £1 per month for 3 months with code DANSNOW sign up at https://historyhit.com/subscription/

We'd love to hear from you - what do you want to hear an episode on? You can email the podcast at ds.hh@historyhit.com.

You can take part in our listener survey here.