【美国人物志】杰西·欧文斯 (8/9)

英语自学网

杰西·欧文斯，原名詹姆斯·克利夫兰·欧文斯(James Cleveland Owens)是美国黑人田径明星，短跑运动员。1913年9月12日生于美国南方阿拉巴马州一个棉农之家，黑奴后裔家庭，1980年3月31日卒于亚利桑那州。现代奥运史上最伟大的运动员，被誉为“本世纪最佳田径运动员。”。
Hints:
Jesse Owens
"Blackthink"
"I Have Changed"

sub_535.gif

In about 1970, Jesse Owens wrote a book in which he told about his life. It was called "Blackthink." In the book, Owens denounced young black militants who blamed society for their troubles. He said young black people had the same chance to succeed in the United States as white people. Many black civil rights activists reacted angrily to these statements. They said what Owens had written was not true for everyone.
Owens later admitted that he had been wrong. He saw that not all blacks were given the same chances and help that he had been given. In a second book, Owens tried to explain what he had meant in his first book. He called it "I Have Changed." Owens said that, in his earlier book, he did not write about life as it was for everyone, but about life as it was for him.
He said he truly wanted to believe that if you think you can succeed and you really try, then you have a chance. If you do not think you have a chance, then you probably will fail. He said these beliefs had worked for him. And he wanted all young people to believe them, too.