Thursday, March 28, 2024

The South Dallas Cultural Center Honors Jesse Owens

The outdoor mural of Jesse Owen was unveiled Saturday, April 25th at 11:00AM at the SDCC.  photo credit:  South Dallas Cultural Center /facebook
The outdoor mural of Jesse Owen was unveiled Saturday, April 25th at 11:00AM at the SDCC. photo credit:
South Dallas Cultural Center /facebook

The legacy of Jesse Owens, the celebrated track star of the 1936 Berlin Olympic Games, is being honored and memorialized by The South Dallas Cultural Center.

During the months of February, March and April, the students participated in a series of educational and artistic activities culminating into a full size mural on the side wall of The SDCC.  Students collaborated to design the mural, based on their interpretation of Owens’ story.  The mural design was brought to life by Master Artist Emmanuel Gillespie, who has a longtime history as a teacher at the Center as well as being a featured artist in the SDCC Gallery. Mr. Gillespie guided his students in awakening their imagination to create a mural that reflected both the ideas of Owens’s struggle and his ultimate triumph.  Through research and class discussions, Owens’ story came alive and was captured by the collaborative design. Of the experience, Mr. Gillespie said: “Exposing students to something new and artistic is always gratifying. I met them on their level and taught them sketching and painting techniques and they, in return, taught me how to be cool.”

The son of a sharecropper and grandson of a slave, Jesse Owens’ stunning achievement of winning four gold medals at the 1936 Olympic Games in Berlin, Germany made him an unforgettable part of world history.  The Games were being held in Nazi Germany, where dictator Adolf Hitler posited that German “Aryan” people were the dominant race. But the outcome of the Games told another story: Jesse Owens became the first American track and field athlete to win four gold medals in a single Olympiad. During a time of deep-rooted segregation, he affirmed that individual excellence – rather than race or nation – distinguishes an individual. The entire world took note of his remarkable achievement, one which remains without precedent. His record number of gold medal wins stood for 48 years.

Of the collaboration, Vicki Meek, South Dallas Cultural Center manager, has said: “We strive to educate our students via the arts and this was a great opportunity. Mr. Owens’ legacy serves as a great example of perseverance and self-belief. We gave the students research assignments on Mr. Owens and they created the mural concept based on what resonated with them. We are so proud of them and I can tell that they are very proud of their work.”

The completed mural was revealed on Saturday, April 25th at 11:00AM at the South Dallas Cultural Center, 3400 S Fitzhugh Avenue, Dallas, TX 75210.  The event was hosted by Chris Arnold, 105.3 The Fan midday co-host and emcee for the Dallas Mavericks. Chris has covered every type of major sporting events the world has to offer, including two Olympics.

 

About The South Dallas Cultural Center

The South Dallas Cultural Center became a reality through the efforts of key individuals in the African-American community, who encouraged the City of Dallas to develop a multi-purpose arts facility in South Dallas. With everything from classes for the education-minded to finger-poppin’ jazz jams for the young and the old hipsters, the SDCC, located just outside the Fair Park complex, is a community resource for all Dallas residents. With a wide variety of programs inspired by the vibrancy and diversity of the African Diaspora, the SDCC seeks to educate and inspire through the visual, media, literary and performing arts.

For more information, visit www.dallasculture.org/SDCulturalCenter 

 About Emmanuel Gillespie

Emmanuel Gillespie was born and raised in Dallas and received his BFA from the University of North Texas and later earned a Masters of Arts in Painting from Indiana University of Pennsylvania. Gillespie works with mixed media in both two-dimensional and three-dimensional artforms. He has been commissioned to create numerous public art projects by both the city of Dallas Public Art Program and Dallas Area Rapid Transit (DART). Mr. Gillespie’s studio artwork has been exhibited widely in institutions like the African American Museum in Dallas, Arthello Beck Gallery, Indiana University Gallery, and is in many private collections.

 

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