Jesse Owens

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.

People say it was degrading for an Olympic champion to run against a horse, but what was I supposed to do? I had four gold medals, but you can't eat four gold medals.

When I came back to my native country, I couldn't ride in the front of the bus.

Hitler didn't snub me—it was FDR who snubbed me.

I let my feet spend as little time on the ground as possible.

I wanted no part of politics. And I wasn't in Berlin to compete against any one athlete. The purpose of the Olympics was to do your best.

The only bond worth anything between human beings is their humanness.