The name Jesse Owens may grace Chicago school

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CHICAGO (AP) — The name of Olympic track and field legend Jesse Owens may once again grace the front of a Chicago Public School.

A school council on Chicago’s South Side voted Wednesday to rename a school after the four-time gold medalist. The original Jesse Owens Community Academy was one of about 50 schools closed in June because of declining enrollment. Its students were transferred to Gompers Elementary School.

The Chicago Sun-Times reports (https://bit.ly/1bxoB4n) the Gompers Local School Council voted to rename Gompers after Owens. The change must now be approved by the Board of Education.

James Cleveland “Jesse” Owens was the most decorated athlete of the 1936 Berlin Olympics. Owens moved to Chicago in 1949, and raised his family here. A school was named for Owens after he died in 1980.

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