At the 1936 Berlin Summer Olympics, track and field star Jesse Owens ran himself straight into international glory by winning four gold medals. But the life of Jesse Owens is much more than a sports story. Born in rural Alabama under the oppressive Jim Crow laws, Owens's family suffered many hardships. As a boy he worked several jobs like delivering groceries and working in a shoe repair shop to make ends meet. But Owens defied the odds to become a sensational student athlete, eventually running track for Ohio State. He was chosen to compete in the Summer Olympics in Nazi Germany where Adolf Hitler was promoting the idea of “Aryan superiority.”  Owens’s winning streak at the games humiliated Hitler and crushed the myth of racial supremacy once and for all.

MUSICAL REVOLUTION SWEEPS NATION AND BEYOND
How did a bunch of young people from the inner city create a genre of music that became a global phenomenon? From its humble origins at house parties in the Bronx, where DJs mixed old records to create new sounds, charismatic MCs let their clever lyrics flow, and B-boys and B-girls pioneered inventive dance moves, hip-hop quickly became a musical and cultural revolution.

Hip-Hop: The Beat of America

Meet Aaliyah, a hip-hop superfan who is about to get a lesson in all things “old school” courtesy of her dad, who grew up in the 1970s when rap music first hit the scene. The pair take a day trip to the Bronx where Aaliyah discovers the many unsung heroes who helped create the foundations of the hip-hop we all enjoy today. So get ready to drop the beat, bust a move, and get down with some fresh rap knowledge!

Perfect for readers of Can't Stop, Won't Stop and Nathan Hale's Hazardous tales.