Jesse Owens’ childhood home to become historic landmark in Cleveland

CLEVELAND (WJW) – In the history of sports, few names mean more than Jesse Owens.

Cleveland City Council President Blaine Griffin wasn’t alive to see the Buckeye Bullet dominate track and field, but he knows the story well.

“What he represents to me is the perseverance of the Black experience but most of all, he represents Black excellence,” said Griffin.

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Owens became a legend at Ohio State, winning 8 individual national titles. Then, he became an American hero, winning four gold medals at 1936 Berlin Olympics.

“This is the person who turned Hitler’s theory on its head in the Olympics,” said Griffin.

Before all of it, Owens grew up living in Cleveland.

However, you wouldn’t be able to pick out the home Owens lived in unless you knew its exact address.

Now, President Griffin and Cleveland City Council are hoping to change that.

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Jesse’s home, situated on East 100th Street, could be made a historic landmark by the council as early as next week.

President Griffin explains why that matters:

“The restoration society and others hopefully will invest in it to make it a Jewel of Fairfax. It will hopefully be a place that supplements all of our history here,” he said.

Making the property a landmark gives it a chance to not only survive but thrive, serving as a proud reminder to the community of what has happened here and can happen again.

“Our children need to see excellence every day and that’s what we all are trying to do,” said Griffin.

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