African American Athletes - 1936 Summer Olympics

Date: [unknown] [unknown]
Location: Berlin, Germany
Surname/tag: black_heritage

US Black Heritage Project
Olympics- Team United States of America

About

The 1936 Summer Olympics were held in Berlin in Nazi Germany. The United States of America sent 18 African American athletes.^[1] They won 13^[2] of America's 56 medals that year, accounting for nearly a quarter of the country's medals. Although Jesse Owens was the most widely celebrated of the group with his four gold medals, the combined athletic prowess of the whole group ""in the middle of Nazi Germany under the gaze of Adolf Hitler...put a lie to notions of racial superiority — whooped 'em and taught them a thing or two about democracy and taught them a thing or two about the American character," as President Barack Obama said in 2016.^[3] These athletes faced discrimination at the Games and afterwards. Two athletes, Howell King and Louise Stokes were pulled from their events with little notice and replaced with white athletes. Dubious reasoning was given for both replacements and many suspected that it was due to racism.^[4][5][6] When they returned, none of them, including Jesse Owens, received acknowledgement from President Franklin Delano Roosevelt or invitations to the White House. In 2016, President Barack Obama invited the descendants of all 18 athletes to the White House to honor their achievements along with many of the 2016 Olympic Athletes, noting that they paved the way for the diverse Olympic teams of today.^[3] Also in 2016, a documentary called "Olympic Pride, American Prejudice" was produced about this group of 18 African-American athletes and their experience in the 1936 Olympics.^[4]

Athletes & Results

Name	Event(s)	Medal/Result	Connected?
Albritton, Dave	Athletics, High Jump	Silver Medal	N
Clark, Jimmy	Boxing, Middleweight	Tied for 5th place (lost in quarter-finals)	Y
Brooks, John	Athletics, Long Jump	7th place	N
Johnson, Cornelius	Athletics, High Jump	Gold Medal	N
Johnson, Willis	Boxing, Heavyweight alternate	Did not start	N
King, Howell	Boxing, Welterweight	Did not start	Y
LuValle, James	Athletics, 400 m	Bronze Medal	Y
Metcalfe, Ralph	Athletics: 4x100 m Relay 100 m	Gold Medal Silver Medal	Y
Oliver, Art	Boxing, Heavyweight	Tied for 9th	N
Owens, Jesse	Athletics: 100 m 200 m 4x100 m relay Long Jump	Gold Medal Gold medal Gold Medal Gold medal	Y
Picket, Tidye	Athletics, 80 m Hurdles	Injured in semi-finals	N
Pollard, Fritz Jr.	Athletics, 110 m Hurdles	Bronze Medal	Y
Robinson, Mack	Athletics, 200 m	Silver Medal	Y
Stokes, Louise	Athletics, 4x100 m Relay	Did not start	Y
Terry, John	Weightlifting, Featherweight	6th place	Y
Williams, Archie	Athletics, 400 m	Gold Medal	N
Wilson, Jackie	Boxing, Bantamweight	Silver Medal	N
Woodruff, John	Athletics, 800 m	Gold Medal	Y
Total		13 medals: 7 gold medals, 4 silver medals, 2 bronze medals

Sources

1. ↑ "U.S. Colored Stars Are Well Represented On American Team," The Detroit Tribune [Michigan], 25 Jul 1936, page 6; image copy, Newspapers.com (https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-detroit-tribune/133686235/ : accessed 18 Oct 2023).
2. ↑ Adding up the medals in the table below gives a total of 14 medals, but Jesse Owens and Ralph Metcalfe shared the win for the 4x100 meter relay.
3. ↑ ^{3.0 3.1} Associated Press, "Relatives of Jesse Owens and Other 1936 Black Olympians Finally Visit White House," NBC News, https://www.nbcnews.com/news/nbcblk/relatives-jesse-owens-other-1936-black-olympians-finally-visit-white-n657101 : accessed 19 Oct 2023.
4. ↑ ^{4.0 4.1} Olympic Pride, American Prejudice, documentary, Coffee Bluff Pictures, 2016; see https://www.1936olympicsmovie.com/about.
5. ↑ "Church Ouster Laid To Taking Of Camera," Buffalo Evening News [New York], 10 Aug 1936, page 1, column 8; image copy, Newspapers.com (https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-buffalo-news/133304175/ : accessed 11 Oct 2023).
6. ↑ "All a 'Mystery,' Say Joe Church, Howell King," Rochester Democrat and Chronicle [New York], 7 Aug 2023, page 29; image copy, Newspapers.com (https://www.newspapers.com/article/democrat-and-chronicle/6412554/ : accessed 11 Oct 2023).