Jesse Owens Wins Four Gold Medals at Hitler's Berlin Olympics

Jesse Owens won four gold medals at the 1936 Berlin Olympics — 100m, 200m, long jump, and 4x100m relay — directly contradicting Nazi racial ideology in front of Adolf Hitler. The American press celebrated Owens while Hitler's discomfort received extensive coverage. What received less attention: Franklin Roosevelt never sent Owens a congratulatory telegram or invited him to the White House. Owens later said: 'Hitler didn't snub me — it was our president who snubbed me.' Owens returned home to segregation, exploitation by promoters, and inability to find dignified employment proportionate to his fame.