Film about Jesse Owens marks Black History Month in Fostoria

FOSTORIA — Black History Month has been an educational time in the United States since 1970.And the month's final day this year will be marked in Fostoria with the opportunity to watch a movie that may not only provide a two-hour learning experience but may even prompt a few cheers nearly 90 years after the fact.The civil and human rights committee of United Auto Workers Chapter 2021 will host a showing of "Race," a 2016 film that tells the story of legendary Ohioan Jesse Owens and his triumphs in the 1936 summer Olympics, at 7 p.m., Saturday at the United Auto Workers hall, 1675 N. Union St.Admission will be free and so will the popcorn to those in attendance as the union committee hosts a film for Black History Month for the fourth year.And viewers will have the opportunity to express some national pride only days after many cheered for the U.S. men's hockey team's 2-1 overtime victory over frequent nemesis Canada in the gold medal game at the winter Olympics in Milan, Italy."The movie I chose this year is related to the Olympics; we've had the (winter) Olympics going on," said Jeff Mendoza, recording secretary and bargaining chairman of Chapter 2021 and chairman of the union's civil and human rights committee. "It's about Jesse Owens, a track star who competed in the (summer) Olympics in 1936, when they were held in Nazi Germany."Facing off against Nazis, fighting off discrimination — it's a very powerful story. And, this being an Olympic year and everything, I thought we could tie it into the Olympics."The film is about two hours long and is rated PG-13. Stephan James portrays Owens, who won the 100- and 200-meter dashes and the long jump and ran a leg on the victorious 4-by-100 meter relay team. The Owens family had final say on the film's historical accuracy. Owens died in 1980 at age 66.The only other person to match Owens' victory collection in a single Olympiad was Carl Lewis, who did so in Los Angeles, in 1984.While Lewis gained his four gold medals in his home country, Owens did so in a nation ruled by dictator Adolf Hitler, who, while putting up a peaceful front for the Olympics, believed in Aryan supremacy and ruled over the Nazi regime that was responsible for the genocide of six million Jews.An irony exists in that while Owens' standout showings ended up drawing cheers in Berlin, the young man from Cleveland who starred at Ohio State University returned to a home nation where racism made his pursuit of employment difficult.The likes of Martin Luther King Jr. and the Rev. Jesse Jackson later engineered civil-rights progress in the United States, but prejudice has been passed down through generations and remains a hot-button topic."We've made strides, but in a lot of ways we've taken some steps back, too," Mendoza said. "So, it's still a struggle."Mendoza said attendance at the annual movies has grown bit by bit, with last year's film drawing about 20 people."We don't usually get big crowds, but as long as we're doing the event every year, that's the important thing to me," he said.Indeed, the movies have the potential to resonate more in Fostoria than in other municipalities of similar size, he said."The ones who might not think it's important, maybe they're the ones who really need to come and see what it's all about," he said. "It is important, even in a small town like this. We're a small community, but we're a diverse community."