Original Story by WFLA, Rod Carter

Eighty years ago Jesse Owens' quest to become the greatest track and field athlete in history thrust him onto the world stage of the 1936 Olympics, where he faced off against Adolf Hitler's vision of Aryan supremacy.  On Friday, February 19, 2016, 500 Jefferson High School students made the connection to that historical event by walking from their school to West Shore Plaza where they had the privilege of seeing the movie “Race”.   A majority of the students involved are enrolled in American History or African American Studies courses.

The viewing of this movie provided an opportunity for students to make connections between sports then and today, and to help them look more closely at this historical events pre-World War II. 

WFLA news anchor, Rod Carter, covered this year’s event, and his work provides an in-depth and personal view of why the students felt strongly about their participation and why it was important to them.  Read his story and view the News Channel 8 report online at http://wfla.com/2016/02/19/jefferson-high-students-walk-to-movie-theatre-to-learn-history/.