Olympians who
took a political stand in ‘68
and shook the world to be honored by alma mater
By Dennis Freeman
OW Staff Writer
The year of 1968
was a tumultuous one for African Americans, the civil rights
movement, and the United States. The civil rights movement
was at its zenith.
African Americans were fighting vigorously for equal
treatment in this country. But their struggle wouldn’t come
without sacrifice or despair.
Tragedy and human suffering was everywhere.
Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., the iconic figure of the civil
rights movement, was assassinated in front of a Memphis
hotel. Rioting spread through over 120 cities shortly after
King’s murder. The Black Panthers, and its leaders, Eldridge
Cleaver and Huey Newton, found themselves being taken down
by law enforcement and the FBI.
Sen. Robert F. Kennedy, brother of slain President John F.
Kennedy, was gunned down in downtown Los Angeles at the
Ambassador Hotel. At the time of his death, Kennedy, a
staunch civil rights supporter, was a presidential
candidate.
Sit-ins were performed as blacks seized administration
offices on major college campuses such as Howard University,
Boston University, and Columbia University.
And how could anyone forget the Orangeburg Massacre, in
which police officers fired into a crowd of African-American
students who were peacefully boycotting a segregated bowling
alley at South Carolina State College at Orangeburg.
Three black students lost their lives, another 27 were
wounded in the attack.
On Oct. 16, 1968, at the XIX Olympiad in Mexico City, the
“Fists of Freedom” were raised in civil disobedience to
decry the unjust treatment that African Americans were
subjected to in the United States. Two black men. Two raised
fists. Two black gloves, one representing black power, the
other unification of African Americans. A moment of defiance
and activism. A moment of truth for Tommie Smith and John
Carlos.
A moment in time that reflected iniquities and inequalities
for those who represented the good of the United States but
were subjected to fire hoses, snapping police dogs, poverty,
lynchings and segregation during the Jim Crow era.
There stood Smith and Carlos at the podium, both wearing
long black socks and no shoes, boldly unwavering in their
political stance. The black socks and shoeless appearance
signaled poverty for African Americans living in the
country.
Smith’s raised right fist stood for black power. Carlos’
left gloved fist was a symbol of black unity. The box that
Smith carried to the platform with him was a sign of peace,
and the black scarf that he had wrapped around his neck was
meant to show pride.
The beads Carlos had draped around his neck symbolized the
many lynchings that blacks endured while in this country.
What Tommie Smith and John Carlos did when they took the
victory stand after the 200-meter run 37 years ago still
reigns as one of the most defining moments, not only in the
civil rights movement, but also in American history.
The bowing of their heads while the national anthem played
spoke of the shame of being an American who wasn’t white;
the embarrassment of representing a country many blacks felt
treated them like second-class citizens. Their closed eyes
and silence on the victory stand resonated internationally
and showed to the world that inhumane treatment should not
be accepted anywhere, let alone in the most powerful country
in the world.
“We wanted to bring attention to the world about the plight
of black people and minorities throughout the world,” said
Carlos in a phone interview with OW. “We wanted to bring
attention to the pain and suffering and inequities that were
taking place on blacks in and around that time.”
Carlos, who went on to tie the world record in the 100-yard
dash with a 9.1 clocking in 1969, said if he had the
opportunity to do it all over again, he would. He said he
has no regrets about what he and Smith did on that October
day 37 years ago.
“When you’re doing the right thing, how can you have
regrets?” said Carlos. “What? Because they put some
punishment on me and because they spiked me. That’s nothing
to what God would do to me if I did the wrong thing. But we
had some African Americans that felt that what I did set
them back 50 years–100 years.”
What Smith and Carlos believe they did was move things
forward.
And 37 years later, America is beginning to pay homage to
the two men who survived constant death threats,
vilification at home by the public, humiliation and
abandonment by friends, and a great deal more of personal
sacrifice for their courageous stand.
More importantly, they can now go home.
San Jose State, the school Smith and Carlos attended when
they were booted out of the Olympics because of their
actions, is paying homage to them in a special way. After
three years of planning, San Jose State will unveil a
20-foot-plus life-like sculpture of Smith and Carlos on the
victory stand in Mexico City.
The daylong event will culminate with a formal ceremony in
which Smith, Carlos, and former 400-meter world
record-holder Lee Evans will attend. The official ceremony
will take place Monday on the school’s campus.
The honoring of Smith and Carlos, who finished first and
third, respectively, in the 200 meters in 1968, may be many,
many years late for some, but it’s right on time for others.
“San Jose State is committed to the ideals of dignity,
equality and justice,” said Don W. Kassing, president of the
university. “Tommie Smith and John Carlos are role models
for our students because they acted on their beliefs without
regard for personal risk. They brought attention to social
injustice in our country. They were thoughtful about it and
used powerful symbolism to send their message.
“We hope that the sculpture commemorating their pivotal
moment in the human rights movement will inspire all of us,
and especially young people, to act on our beliefs and bring
about positive change in society for generations to come.”
The change and the right time to honor Smith And Carlos, who
received honorary doctorate degrees from the university
earlier this year, came about when the school’s student
body–Associated Students–came up with a resolution for the
statue to be built.
The Associated Students were able to raise $350,000 for the
sculpture and the erecting of it.
Alfonso De Alba, executive director of the Associated
Students, said the recognition for Smith and Carlos’
stunning protest should have come a lot sooner.
“It’s a long, overdue recognition,” said De Alba. “It’s all
of society’s fault that it has taken this long to recognize
them. But it was the school that woke up to it. We needed a
wake-up call. I think that this is the most recognizable
event–when it comes to athletes and students–when it comes
to civil rights. I think this makes a worldwide statement of
student activities used as a mechanism for change.”
The creation of the “Silent Protest” was generated not just
by what was happening in the United States, but globally as
well, said Carlos.
The United States was still deeply engaged in the Vietnam
War then. And just days before the 1968 Olympics, a campus
protest turned deadly when a riot broke out, leaving a large
number of Mexico City university students wounded or dead by
army troops. The fight for oppression was on. The world’s
climate was ripe for a change; a radical stance. Smith and
Carlos gave it to them.
But they paid dearly for their actions. Societal pressure
created a backlash, emotionally, financially and mentally
for the families of Smith and Carlos. The pressure
eventually got to Carlos’ first wife. Almost a decade after
the 1968 Olympics, Carlos’ first wife took her own life as
an indirect result of the incident.
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