Book On African American Resiliency During 1936 Berlin Olympics Is A Perfect Quarantine Read
On “Morning Edition,” Atlanta-based filmmaker Deborah Riley Draper discusses the story of the U.S. athletes who challenged Jim Crow laws and Adolf Hitler at the Summer Games in Nazi Germany. Draper and author Travis Thrasher wrote a book titled “Olympic Pride.”
Daniel G. Morris
Today is the last day of National Women’s History Month. For many, it marks another day of staying at home due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
But to wrap up the month with a bit of intersectional African American and women’s history, there’s a book where one can find the untold story of those who challenged Jim Crow laws and Adolf Hitler to compete in the 1936 Berlin Olympics.
“Olympic Pride,” by Atlanta-based filmmaker Deborah Riley Draper and author Travis Thrasher, may make for an inspiring read. It’s also been adapted into a movie.
The backdrop is the Summer Games held in Nazi Germany, where track star Jesse Owens won gold.
Yet, as the history lesson unfolds, it’s revealed there were 17 other African Americans on the U.S. team, including two women.
Overall, they won 14 medals that summer — eight of them were gold. That was a quarter of the 56 medals won by the entire U.S. team.
“Morning Edition” host Lisa Rayam spoke with Draper about why this story had to be told.
Top Stories
