PHOENIX — Jesse Owens was a record-breaking athlete who gained international fame, breaking barriers in the 1936 Olympics in Nazi Germany.
But for Gina Hemphill-Strachan, the Medal of Freedom honoree holds a different title near and dear to her heart.
“He was Granddad who happened to do a really cool thing,” she said with a laugh when asked what it was like growing up with a four-time Olympic gold medalist.
Owens spent his final years in the Valley. In fact, one of his final forms of advocacy, the Jesse Owens Clinic, still stands in South Phoenix near Central Avenue and Baseline Road.
For the past seven months, construction crews have been hard at work renovating it.
It will soon serve as Mountain Park Health Center’s newest primary care facility and will include some important touches to Owens’ spirit.
Because of the discriminatory practice known as redlining, many in the African American community were forced to live in South Phoenix and travel far for emergency care. Then, an historic flood in the 1970s largely cut off their access to care.
“The river... when it was flooded, people couldn’t cross,” said Janey Pearl Starks, a spokesperson for Mountain Park Health Center. “So imagine needing that care and needing to care for your family and not being able to, and that was one of the things that led Mr. Owens to really advocate for, help raise money for the Jesse Owens Clinic.”
Even today, data shows those health disparities still exist. Data from the Center on Society and Health shows that of all Valley cities, the zip code with the lowest life expectancy includes parts of South Phoenix at 71 years old. In Scottsdale, data shows the life expectancy is 85.
Hemphill-Strachan says that’s why the work being done at the clinic is so important.
“I feel very proud,” she said. “The legacy he was able to leave and the impact on the Phoenix community is still relevant and positive.”
Mountain Park Health Center says construction on the clinic is expected to be completed by the end of February. On March 29, a 5K run will be held at the clinic in his honor. The clinic, located at 325 E. Baseline Rd., will open to patients in April.
