The First Black Olympian Was a Bad Ass

[jade3000]

This guy was no joke: high school salutatorian, graduated from University of Wisconsin, and won 2 Olympics medals.

http://www.dominionofnewyork.com/2012/07/24/the-first-black-olympian-was-a-bad-ass/#.UBC2SrT2ZLc

The first black person to compete in the Olympics was under a lot of pressure not to go, when his chance came during the 1904 Olympics, the third in modern history. The African-American press and many prominent African-Americans called for a boycott of the 1904 games and with good reason.

That year, when the United States got the privilege of hosting the Olympic games for the first time, it set about infecting the games and that year’s World’s Fair with Jim Crow racism. Organizers of both the events constructed segregated facilities for spectators. And if they were anything like the other segregated facilities of the day, they were substandard and humiliating.

George C. Poage faced a difficult decision ...

He was 32 years before Jesse Owens. Fascinating.

[NYC_SKP]

1. George: