Rudy, Liesel’s best friend, is eleven years old. He does not have a prejudiced bone in his body. So, when Rudy rubs his entire body down with charcoal on a cloudy evening, he does not think twice about it. He cannot comprehend the meaning of his actions because racism is not born in us, it is taught to us. All he can see is the face of Jesse Owens, a four time Olympic gold medalist, looking back at him in the mirror. As he laces up his shoes and heads to the Hubert Oval fence, he feels as if he is on top of the world. A crowd begins to form around the fence as Rudy races his imaginary opponents who do not stand a chance against him. The crowd begins to chant Jesse Owens while the charcoaled hero runs around the track. Rudy does not understand
