The Jesse Owens Story
1984 (TV)
(on hearing that Jesse had received $10.000 from an unknown benefactor in 1936) Lew Gilbert: What is the straight story behind that money, Mr Owens? Jesse Owens: You want the truth? I was paid $10.000 to support Alfred M. Landon's campaign againt Franklin D. Roosevelt. Lew Gilbert: Were you ashamed of that? Jesse Owens: Some people thought I should be, but I wasn't. Celebrities endorse cigarettes, banks, automobiles. Why was it wrong for me to endorse a Republican? Besides, it wasn't just for the money. I believed Landon would be better for the Black man. Lew Gilbert: What made you think so? Jesse Owens: Adolf Hitler made my name a household word when he wouldn't shake hands with me. President Roosevelt didn't shake hands with me, either. Governor Landon did.
Mel Walker: Being a champion meant staying at the same hotel as the White athletes, at least in New York. It did not mean going in the *front* door. (black athletes entering through loading dock and riding in freight elevator to their rooms)