[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 159 (2013), Part 9]
[Senate]
[Pages 13519-13520]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




 SENATE RESOLUTION 226--CELEBRATING THE 100TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE BIRTH 
      OF JAMES CLEVELAND ``JESSE'' OWENS AND HONORING HIM FOR HIS 
ACCOMPLISHMENTS AND STEADFAST COMMITMENT TO PROMOTING THE CIVIL RIGHTS 
                             OF ALL PEOPLE

  Mr. BROWN (for himself, Mr. Portman, Mr. Durbin, Mr. Kirk, Ms. 
Landrieu, and Mr. Sessions) submitted the following resolution; which 
was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary:

                              S. Res. 226

       Whereas James Cleveland ``Jesse'' Owens was born on 
     September 12, 1913 in Oakville, Alabama;
       Whereas Jesse Owens, the youngest of 10 children of 
     sharecroppers and the grandson of a slave, moved with his 
     family at the age of 9 to Cleveland, Ohio as part of the 
     Great Migration;
       Whereas, as a student at Fairmount Junior High School, 
     Jesse Owens broke junior high school world records for the 
     high jump and the broad jump;
       Whereas Jesse Owens attended East Technical High School in 
     Cleveland, Ohio where, as a member of the track team, he 
     placed first in 75 of the 79 races he entered during his 
     senior year, set the world record in the 220-yard dash, and 
     tied the world record in the 100-yard dash;
       Whereas Jesse Owens, the ``Buckeye Bullet'', matriculated 
     at the Ohio State University in 1933 after attracting 
     national attention as a high school athlete;
       Whereas, while attending classes, training, and breaking a 
     number of track and field

[[Page 13520]]

     records, Jesse Owens worked various jobs, including as an 
     elevator operator at the Ohio State Capitol, a waiter, a gas 
     station attendant, and a library employee;
       Whereas, due to his race, Jesse Owens was barred from 
     living on campus at the Ohio State University, denied service 
     at restaurants near the University, and forced to stay in 
     segregated hotels;
       Whereas, on May 25, 1935, in a 45-minute period during the 
     Big Ten Track and Field Championships in Ann Arbor, Michigan, 
     Jesse Owens, competing with an injured back, tied the world 
     record in the 100-yard dash and set new world records in the 
     long jump, the 220-yard dash, and the 220-yard low hurdles;
       Whereas, as of the 2012 Summer Olympics, only two men had 
     surpassed the long jump record Jesse Owens set in 1935;
       Whereas, at the 1936 Summer Olympics, Jesse Owens won 4 
     gold medals, tied the world record in the 100-meter dash, and 
     set new Olympic records in the 200-meter race, the long jump, 
     and the 400-meter relay;
       Whereas Jesse Owens' resilience and heroic performance at 
     the 1936 Summer Olympics exposed the struggle against racial 
     bigotry and publicly defied Adolf Hitler's intention of 
     proving that ethnicity was a predetermining factor for 
     achievement;
       Whereas the record-breaking performance by Jesse Owens at 
     the 1936 Summer Olympics was never recognized by President 
     Franklin D. Roosevelt or President Harry S. Truman, but was 
     later recognized in 1955 by President Dwight D. Eisenhower, 
     who referred to Jesse Owens as an ``Ambassador of Sport'';
       Whereas, following his Olympic career, Jesse Owens resumed 
     his commitment to public service by spending much of his time 
     working with community groups such as the Boys Clubs of 
     America, chronicling his personal story to magnify the 
     importance of equality and civil rights;
       Whereas, during the 1950s, Jesse Owens worked with the 
     Department of State to promote democracy abroad as an 
     Ambassador of Goodwill during the Cold War and advocated for 
     socioeconomic equality, individuality, freedom, and love of 
     country;
       Whereas Jesse Owens was awarded the Presidential Medal of 
     Freedom by President Gerald R. Ford in 1976 and the Living 
     Legend Award by President Jimmy Carter in 1979, and was 
     posthumously awarded the Congressional Gold Medal by 
     President George H.W. Bush in 1990; and
       Whereas the integrity, courage, and strength of character 
     that Jesse Owens demonstrated remain an example for all 
     people of the United States: Now, therefore, be it
       Resolved, That the Senate--
       (1) honors and celebrates the 100th anniversary of the 
     birth of James Cleveland ``Jesse'' Owens; and
       (2) supports and encourages the people of the United States 
     to recognize the contributions of Jesse Owens to the Olympic 
     Games, collegiate athletics, international race relations, 
     and democracy.

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