Jesse Owens applied to OSU for an ME program so he could teach PE but was summarily denied due to his poor academics as an undergrad
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Replying to @arthur_affect
(During which he had set 3 world records as captain of OSU's track and field team, while living off campus bc dorms were whites-only)
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Replying to @arthur_affect
One of Jesse Owens' jobs in the 1940s was promoting a minor league baseball team by racing against racehorses between doubleheaders
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Replying to @arthur_affect
When asked whether he found this degrading he famously replied "You can't eat four gold medals"
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Replying to @arthur_affect
As he aged Owens ended up having to work jobs like dry cleaning and pumping gas to support his family
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Replying to @arthur_affect
He declared bankruptcy and was prosecuted for tax evasion in the 1960s
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Replying to @arthur_affect
(It was at this juncture that the media noticed the incredibly shitty way Owens had been treated and it became A Story)
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Replying to @arthur_affect
(Leading to his resurrected celebrity speaking on racial issues in sports toward the end of his life)
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Replying to @arthur_affect
Many people noted Owens' opposition to the athletes performing the Black Power salute at the 1968 Olympics but don't repeat his exact quote
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Replying to @arthur_affect
What he said was "The only time the black fist has significance is when there's money inside. That's where the power lies"
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Owens came off a lot as a cynical person who really hated being a symbol of US patriotism but you know who can blame him
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Replying to @arthur_affect
I'm gonna circle back around to OSU because it's such a perfect example of how shittily US institutions treat Black athletes
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Replying to @arthur_affect
Owens almost didn't attend OSU after being accepted bc he needed to work to support his siblings and just-born daughter
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