“Jesse Owens was a model of technical perfection the way he ran. . . . That was in such opposition of what African Americans were supposed to be.” Writer William Rhoden’s powerful statement opens this dynamic history of the track and field star. Owens was discovered in junior high and quickly ascended from high school star to college sensation to national celebrity. The 1936 Olympics in Berlin would be the pinnacle of his career—to the dismay of Nazi Germany, Owens triumphed, winning four gold medals. He returned a hero, only to find that achieving success at home would be more difficult than he’d imagined.

This beautiful tribute is woven from archival footage, recollections by Owens’s friends and daughters, and interviews with writers and scholars like Jeremy Schaap and Harry Edwards. In exploring Owens’s legacy, the film highlights the intersections between racism and sports, and in doing so, tells us as much about the past as it does the present.  ST