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.