The Race Against Racism

Yahoo Movies

Drew Brown, Web Editor

Jesse Owens was one of the best in the history of track and field winning four gold medals at the 1936 Summer Olympics. The Olympics were held in Berlin, Germany under Nazi rule at the time of the games. The movie “Race” starring Stephan James as Owens is about Owen’s life starting in college at Ohio State University all the way through the Olympic Games.

The first trailer for the movie just came out and highlights Owens struggles against racism both in the United States as well as during the games in Germany. It was perfectly summed up in “Owens pierced a myth” by Larry Schwartz when Owens said, “When I came back to my native country, after all the stories about Hitler, I couldn’t ride in the front of the bus. I had to go to the back door. I couldn’t live where I wanted. I wasn’t invited to shake hands with Hitler, but I wasn’t invited to the White House to shake hands with the President, either.”

The “Race”, also features Jason Sudeikis, William Hurt, and Jeremy Irons, will premiere February 19.