In the 1968 Summer Olympics, Tommie Smith and John Carlos had just won the gold and bronze medals, respectively, for their record-breaking runs in the 200-meter race when they raised their black-gloved fists on the podium as a powerful stance for equality and human rights.
On Tuesday, Oct. 21, they were the keynote speakers at the opening conversation for the Sport and Human Rights summit hosted by the Dodd Center for Human Rights. In a talk moderated by William C. Rhoden, columnist and Editor-At-Large of Andscape, Smith and Carlos traveled back in time while still thinking about the present.
Rhoden spoke about watching that moment as an 18-year-old and knowing something shifted when Smith and Carlos took their stand. When asked what was going through their minds, Carlos and Smith were aligned.
“This is what I came here for,” said Carlos. “I didn’t come for the medal; I came here to make a statement, and I was happy I got to make a statement.”
Smith added that while he and Carlos were incredibly different, they both believed – and still believe – in fighting for social change. They attended the same high school, and their beliefs and desire to create change shaped their careers.
“Both John and I worked incredibly hard,” said Smith. “We didn’t see very much of each other because we were in classes most of the time, but we knew we had a responsibility.”
The Olympic committee took their medals, but Carlos and Smith have other things in mind when it comes to what this moment meant.
“You look back at how things were 57 years ago, and a young Black athlete was classified as a jock,” said Carlos. “We didn’t have any intelligence, and they didn’t give us any respect for having intelligence, so that was the main thing: getting on the victory stand and saying, ‘hey, we have far more than you’ve ever given us credit for.’”
Carlos spoke about how this moment was much bigger than himself and that he wasn’t just concerned with his own wellbeing: he was thinking about humanity and all individuals.
Each part of their demonstration was planned, said Carlos, and they knew that this demonstration had to be done as a unit even if they couldn’t have the whole team. Carlos said that when everything was laid in front of him, he wasn’t sure if he was going to go to the games, but after speaking with the creator of the cause, he realized what he wanted to represent.
Carlos approached Smith at the games, he said, and told him he wanted to make a statement.
“We got together and saw what artifacts we had to bring to the podium,” said Carlos. “We wanted to send symbols. Black kids and many minority kids who go to school every day didn’t have shoes, so we said we will not wear shoes on the podium.”
“Mr. Smith wanted to wear a black scarf to represent black pride, but I wanted to represent more, so I wore beads around my neck to illustrate what happened to the individuals in the south before my time,” he continued. “Then we had the project for human rights, so we put the symbol on.”
At the end, Smith left the students with a message on what taking action means for an individual.
“There are always consequences, as long as you’re alive, young folks, there’s always consequences,” he said. “Now, what direction are you going in? That’s one of the most important parts. The most important thing about movement is having a shadow of others to work with. We don’t know how to communicate going in other directions. We must be able to do so in our movements.”