|| A LEARNING MOMENT ||
Olympic and Paralympic Hall of Fame Opens Its Doors to 1968's Summer Olympics Gloved Fists
You can’t ever sign a waiver to disregard the fact you’re involved in the human race. How can you disassociate yourself from the issues of human rights? — John Carlos
People could not understand. It was not about the flag. It was a chance to heighten the idea that we must eradicate stupidity called racism. — Tommie Smith

In 1968 two African-American athletes held up gloved fists up in a Black Power salute to bring worldwide attention to poverty and mistreatment experienced by Blacks in the United States.
And just a few hours later, Tommie Smith and John Carlos were banned from the Olympic Games. For life.
Today — November 1, 2019 — Smith and Carlos are being inducted into the Olympic and Paralympic Hall of Fame.
To put things into perspective for you millenniums, let’s just say they were the Colin Kaepernick’s of their time.


Smith was born and raised in Clarksville, TX And attended San Jose State University on a scholarship after achieving high school stardom. While at San Jose State, Smith set the record for the 200 m race, a record which stood for 44 years — only beaten in 2010.
Carlos was born in New York, NY won a full track-and-field scholarship to East Texas State University, but enrolled at San Jose State the following year.
It was at San Jose State that the two of them helped found the Olympic Project for Human Rights (OPHR) in 1967; established to fight against racial segregation in the United States and discrimination in sports.
At first the OPHR advocated the boycott of the 1968 Summer Olympics unless the following conditions were met:
•Withdrawal of South Africa and Rhodesia from the Games
•Restoration of Muhammad Ali’s world heavyweight boxing title (removed in 1967)
•Removal of Avery Brundage (an anti-Semite who also expressed misogynistic views) from presidency of the International Olympic Committee
•Hiring of more African-American assistant coaches.

Although only the first criteria would be met, Smith and Carlos decided to go ahead and attend the 1968 Olympics — although also deciding that, should they medal, they would do something to bring attention to the cause of racial injustice.
So it was that when Smith and Carlos both medaled in the 200 m sprint, they stood on their podiums with fists raised in the air as the strands of the star-Spangled Banner fill the stadium.
IN THE FIRST EVER NATIONALLY TELEVISED OLYMPIC GAMES!
Most people don’t realize, but they also stood on the podium with black socks and no shoes, to represent of the number of African Americans living in the United States in poverty.
DID I MENTION IT WAS THE VERY FIRST NATIONALLY TELEVISED OLYMPICS GAMES??!!??
(For those who think, or thought, that John Carlos had put up the wrong arm, not so. Their decision to wear black gloves was to show unity not just with the Black Power movement, but to Black people. So they chose to use just one set of gloves. Smith wore the right glove, and Carlos the left.)
Australian sprinter, Peter Norman, who placed second and so was also on the podium as the Star-Spangled Banner played, knew about their intention. Both of his parents were active Salvation Army officers in Sydney, and so he was raised in an environment of social activism.


“I will stand with you,” he emphatically declared.
Putting power to his words, he pinned a OPHR badge to his outerwear he wore at the podium.
THE VERY FIRST TIME THE OLYMPIC GAMES HAD EVER BEEN NATIONALLY TELEVISED.
Carlos would later say the action was to get the world to pay attention and:
“ . . . deal with human issues, issues of people that was being oppressed around the world. People that had no medical care around the world. People that had no employment around the world. People that was being deprived of opportunities to go to college around the world.”
Avery Brundage, president of the Olympic committee, on the other hand, deemed it: “the nasty demonstration against the American flag by negroes.”
“If I do something good, then I’m an American. If I do something bad, then I’m a Negro.” — Tommie Smith
Their message, to the embarrassment of United States, was seen all around the world; the careers of all three athletes were forever impacted by their actions. (Both Smith and Carlos, though, later said it was Norman who suffered the most.)
Brundage demanded that Smith and Carlos be immediately be suspended from the U.S. team and banned from the Olympic Village, and when the track and field committee officials balked at the order, he threatened to have the whole committee suspended.
(It should be noted that while president of the Olympic Committee in 1936 when Germans gave the Nazi salute well on the podium, Brundage stated no objection.)
Rumor had it that Smith’s and Carlos’ medals were stripped because of the action, but that was not so.
Smith went on to receive his B.A. from San Jose State, and then a masters degree from Goddard college. He also briefly played professional football in the Canadian football league. Then went on to coach track at Oberlin College as well as teach at the school.
John Carlos was drafted by the Philadelphia Eagles, but was an able to play due to a knee injury and was dropped. He played in the Canadian football league for one year. In 1985, Carlos became track and field coach, counselor, and in-school suspension supervisor for Palm Springs High School in California.
After Tommie Smith and John Carlos left the Olympic Village there were a few demonstrations by other medalists — including Lee Evans, Larry James, and Ronald Freeman who wore black berets while receiving their medals, though they took them off when the Star Spangled Banner played. Brundage irately proclaimed, “Warped mentalities and cracked personalities seem to be everywhere and impossible to eliminate.”
He was undoubtedly pleased, however, when gold medalist George Foreman excitedly waved the American flag around the ring after winning the bout that clinched him a gold medal.


The U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Hall of Fame was established in 1979 to celebrate the achievements of America’s premier athletes in the modern Olympic Games. The first U.S. Olympic Hall of Fame class was inducted in 1983 during a ceremony in Chicago and included Olympic greats such as Muhammad Ali, Bob Beamon, Jesse Owens, Wilma Rudolph, Mark Spitz, Jim Thorpe and the 1980 “Miracle on Ice” men’s hockey team.
This will be the 16th class induction bringing the total to 154 inductees (individuals and teams). Also being inducted today:
Candace Cable (Para alpine skiing, Para Nordic skiing, Para track and field), Lisa Leslie (basketball), Nastia Liukin (gymnastics), Misty May-Treanor (beach volleyball), Apolo Anton Ohno (short track speedskating), Erin Popovich (Para swimming), Dara Torres (swimming), Chris Waddell (Para alpine skiing, Para track and field), the 1998 U.S. Olympic Women’s Ice Hockey Team, Ron O’Brien (coach: diving) and Tim Nugent (special contributor).
“How can you ask someone to live in the world and not have something to say about injustice?” — John Carlos