Chương 242: 242
Episode 242: The Fall of the Giants (2)
June 15, 1943
Broadway, New York, USA
"we are! Lab rat! no!"
"Black people are people too!"
"The government should immediately punish those responsible and the president should apologize!"
As the truth about the Tuskegee Experiment incident was revealed, all black people living in the United States took to the streets. The same was true for black people living here in New York.
From black people working in poor and degraded occupations such as cleaners, dock workers, and store clerks to black people such as lawyers, musicians, and bankers, as well as black people belonging to the upper class of society as a whole, took to the streets.
They always looked down on poor black people and thought that they were different from ordinary black people.
However, this incident brought them into solidarity with the lower-class black people they despised.
Because I learned that the government doesn't even treat black people as people.
No matter what their job was, how much they made a year or where they lived, they were not people.
That's why all black people marched down Broadway, venting their anger.
To let the world know that they are the same people, that they can get angry and talk the same way.
Although there were a small number of whites, yellows, and Native Americans, the overwhelming majority of the protesters were black.
Jesse Owens, a gold medalist at the 1936 Berlin Olympics, was at the head of the protesters holding placards and pickets and shouting slogans.
Ironically, Tuskege, where the incident occurred, and Oakville, where Owens was born, are in the same state of Alabama.
Despite setting a new record and winning a gold medal at the Berlin Olympics, Owens was treated coldly, ignored, and oppressed instead of being welcomed.
When Owens returned to the United States after the Olympics, the American Athletic Association responded by revoking his amateur status, and despite his international fame, Owens had to live in poverty, working various jobs such as a gas station attendant and a gym cleaner.
He was disillusioned with the discrimination in his homeland, which was so different from the welcome he received in Berlin, that he heard the news about Tuskegee.
He went straight out into the streets and led the people.
To inform white people and the world about their situation.
To create a free and peaceful society where the same tragedy is no longer repeated.
Heavily armed police and soldiers stared with fierce eyes at the black protesters marching through the streets.
Maybe it was intentional, but the military and police officers staring at the protesters were all white.
This made the protesters even more excited and served as an opportunity for them to strengthen their minds.
"My name is Jesse Owens. "I participated in the Olympics held in Berlin seven years ago and won a gold medal."
As Jesse Owens stood on a makeshift platform made of apple crates, cheers rang out from those around him.
A few passers-by who thought the protesters were friendly booed, but their boos were drowned out by louder cheers and cheers.
"My hometown is Alabama. "I was born there and grew up there until I was 9 years old."
The protesters didn't even make a sound to hear his speech.
A few people on the street who despised black people called him a nigger, but Owens ignored them.
His speech continued.
Owens talked about his childhood.
About the time when Owens' family joined the Great Migration and settled in Cleveland, Ohio, where he delivered groceries and repaired shoes while his father and older brother worked in a steel mill.
"I spent my days working to earn a living, but one day I discovered that I had a talent for running. "It was thanks to my teacher who recognized and recognized my talent that I was able to jump into track and field in earnest, rather than simply being able to run faster, farther, and longer than others."
Charles Riley, the track and field coach at Fairmount Middle School, where Owens attended, recognized Owens' talent and encouraged him to pursue track and field.
And to help Owens, who had to work after school due to his family's circumstances, he went to work early and tutored Owens before classes started.
In 1932, when Owens was 19, he met Ruth Solomon and had a daughter.
Three years later, he had two more daughters, and by the time he competed in the Berlin Olympics, Owens was already the husband of one woman and the father of three daughters.
"In 1936, I went to Germany to participate in my dream Olympic Games. Even though I was black there, I had an experience I will never forget. German Fuhrer Adolf Hitler treated me like a non-black person. He, a white man, sincerely congratulated me on my win.
I was happy in Berlin. Thanks to Fuhrer Hitler's consideration and kindness, I ate rare dishes that I had never even seen there and slept on a bed in a top-class hotel.
But when I came back to the United States, I wasn't a gold medalist. In this country I was just a nigger. The records I set at the Olympics, the medals around my neck and the welcome I received in Berlin were all for naught in this country. Because I was black."
A welcome event was held for Owens, who returned to the United States as an Olympic gold medalist.
However, at his welcome event held at the Waldorf Astoria Hotel, Owens was not allowed to ride the elevator because he was black.
Due to the hotel's stubborn refusal, he had no choice but to take the freight elevator.
President Roosevelt also treated Owens coldly and ostracized him as if to show off.
All athletes who won gold medals at the Olympics, regardless of sport, were invited to the White House and had the honor of meeting the president, but Owens was an exception.
Now no one called Owens a nigger anymore.
Passers-by, who were glaring at him with hostile eyes, police officers and soldiers watching the protesters, all held their breath and waited for Owens to continue his story.
Owens said.
"I am American before I am black. I love this country where I was born and raised. I have felt proud seeing the American flag and playing in a uniform with the American flag on it.
But now that I know what happened to the black people in Tuskegee, I can no longer look at the American flag with pride.
We are all black, but we are also Americans, born and raised in the United States. We are angry. We condemn the government for treating our compatriots not as human beings but as laboratory rats and for committing unspeakable, horrendous atrocities. How can this happen in a country with freedom for all? Do you really want a country like this?
Now I realize that fighting, not silence and patience, is the only answer to black human rights. I will fight. For this country and society where my beloved family will live!
For a better tomorrow and future! "We will fight to create a future where our children can truly live bright and happy lives!"
"Owens! Owens!"
When Owens finished his speech, people applauded and cheered.
Protesters chanted his name and Owens raised his hand into a fist.
"The government must apologize!"
"Abolish discrimination!"
"Let's create a society that treats black people like people!"
The protesters started marching again.
"oh! Susanna, don't cry for me
I'm going to Louisiana with a banjo on my knee
I come from Alabama with a banjo on my lap
I'm going to Louisiana to find my true love
The day I left it rained all night and the weather was dry.
The sun was so hot I felt like I was freezing to death.
Don't cry, Susanna!
oh! Susanna, don't cry for me
I'm going to Louisiana with a banjo on my knee... … ."
As soon as someone among the protesters started singing, everyone in the group was singing along.
The protesters' chanting continued for a long time.
Until a huge wall of uniforms and uniforms blocked their path.
"I can't pass from here. Disband immediately. "If you do not comply with my instructions, I will use force."
Following the government's instructions to strictly control the spread of protests, the military and police did not allow the number of demonstrators to increase or to march and raise their voices.
The demonstrators flinched for a moment at the stern appearance of police officers carrying clubs and shields and soldiers carrying pointed rifles.
but
"everyone! Don't be scared! "If we step back today, our children's future will never change!"
As Owens advanced at the head of the demonstrators, the demonstrators began to move again.
"Stop!"
"I gave a clear warning. "Don't come any closer!"
However, the protesters only moved forward with a determined look on their faces. The distance between those trying to advance and those trying to block gradually decreased.
"Stop! It is the last warning!"
"aiming!"
The moment the distance from the protesters narrowed to 30 meters, flames spewed out from the muzzles of the soldiers aiming at the protesters.
"Aaaah!!"
"Oh my god, it's live ammunition!"
"Soldiers are shooting!"
There was shouting and screaming.
People screamed as they saw blood pouring from the wounds of those who had been shot. People who narrowly escaped the bullets helped those who had fallen to take them to the hospital.
Twelve people were injured and five died at the scene.
Among the black people who died at the scene was Berlin Olympics hero Jesse Owens.
He was walking at the front of the protesters and was shot in the heart when the military opened fire. He died instantly without even having a chance to feel any pain.
Owens' eyes were looking up at the sky. The sky was a vivid blue, a perfect contrast to his red blood flowing down Broadway.
***
June 16, 1943
Guildford, England
I heard that yesterday in New York, a black man named Jesse Owens, who won a record four gold medals at the Berlin Olympics, was shot and killed.
Owens' death caused an uproar in the United States, but no one in England, which was at war with Germany, was interested or interested in Owens' death.
Montgomery, like most British people, had little interest in what happened across the ocean in America.
His only concern was when American troops would cross the Atlantic and reach England.
However, when I listened to the advisers, they said that the schedule may be delayed due to the current chaos in the United States.
There were even rumors that he might withdraw from the war.
Shit. Montgomery gritted his teeth. Britain was now pouring all its might into the front line, like squeezing water out of a dry dishcloth.
In order to stop the German army's advance even by just 1 meter, old people, children, and even women rushed into the battlefield with guns in hand.
Without US support, Britain is doomed.
As much as we hate to admit it, Britain was no match for Germany anymore.
Germany was far ahead of the British army in terms of the number, quality, and morale of its troops and weapons, and the British Empire, which once ruled the world, was now dependent on a militia like the Home Guard made up of elderly people.
It was a hopeless situation, but Montgomery did not give up.
He worked desperately to fulfill the mission given to him and established a plan to block the German army.
The enemy is currently passing through Red Hill and moving north towards London. Montgomery planned to have the 8th Army attack the flanks of the German army moving north and divide the enemy.
However, the reconnaissance aircraft reported that the enemy was preparing for a flank attack by deploying a number of anti-tank guns and anti-aircraft guns on the flanks. Damn it.
"It is too much to attack, sir."
"If you start attacking like this, it's like walking into the jaws of a tiger."
The staff also suggested canceling the operation, saying the probability of failure was too high.
If the enemy could not predict our army's attack at all, there would be a chance of victory, but even if the attack was prepared with our army's counterattack in mind, there was a high probability of failure.
Also, the enemy forces that had landed in Brighton and were moving north had to be taken into consideration.
If you try to attack clumsily, but the attack fails, and you are attacked from the rear, you could end up surrounded while trying to surround and annihilate the enemy.
"There are many exaggerations in that report."
"Our reconnaissance team has just returned, and the anti-tank guns are deployed in only a few streets. It's not that the enemy doesn't pay attention to the flanks, but that doesn't mean they're properly prepared. If we attack now, we may succeed."
"If you give up on siege and annihilation and strike quickly and bounce, you can inflict damage to the enemy with as much of your power as possible."
Conversely, the arguments for launching an attack were also formidable. The argument was that all you had to do was attack before the enemy could prepare properly and escape quickly.
"The operation… … ."
Montgomery's decision was the latter.
"It will start as scheduled."
"dismissal!"
"This is too reckless!"
"So I was supposed to just watch the Jerrys go all the way to London like this? If you do nothing and retreat like this, what will the rear think? "They'll all think you're a coward!"
The staff, who had no confidence in persuading Montgomery, who was as stubborn as Churchill, remained silent on Montgomery's words.
Montgomery's argument also had a point.
If the 8th Army did not attack due to concerns about enemy resistance, the only option left was to retreat before the rear was attacked by the enemy and surrounded.
If the unit with the most troops, artillery, vehicles, and tanks retreats without even fighting properly, how will the higher-ups judge them?
Therefore, even if some damage was expected, they had no choice but to attack.
When it was time to start the operation, tanks and infantry advanced simultaneously.
The Air Force was busy fighting German fighter planes in the sky and did not have the resources to support the Army on the ground.
"Advance!"
Montgomery himself boarded the M3 Grant command tank and headed to the battlefield.
Montgomery watched the procession of tanks, armored vehicles, and infantry moving toward the front line with mixed feelings. Even if their actions inflict damage on the German army, they will not be able to prevent the enemy from reaching London. However, it was necessary to delay the German army's arrival in London as much as possible, if not prevent it. This will give London's allies and citizens a little more time to defend the city.
"The Yankees should arrive as soon as possible."
"I think the same thing."
"… ."
The lieutenant in charge of communication on the command tank answered without notice.
Montgomery would have asked if a lieutenant was interfering, but this time he too quietly let it go.
It would have been much more valuable to pray to God one more time while scolding the clueless lieutenant.
God, please protect His Majesty the King and the British Empire.
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