Sports Poets Society

https://www.vox.com/2016/7/13/12118332/john-carlos-olympics by John Carlos Jul 13, 2016, 2:00 PM GMT+2 After I retired from running, I was a counselor for 20 years at several schools in Southern California. At first, no one knew I was an Olympian who'd made international news for raising my fist on the medals podium in 1968 — not the district, and definitely not the students. One morning I spotted four kids sneaking out of the school building, trying to play hooky. I ran after them, and I was right on their butts. Then they turned a corner and disappeared. At first I didn't know where they'd gone. And then, from the bushes, I heard one of the kids saying to the others: Peter Norman, Tommie Smith, and John Carlos  on the medals podium  at the 1968  Olympics (Universal History Archive/Getty Images) "Man, who the hell is that old man? He can run." When I told them to come on out, they asked me, "Who are you?" I said, "Maybe if you was in school, you m...

https://vault.si.com/vault/1991/08/05/the-1968-olympics-a-courageous-stand-first-of-a-two-part-series-in-68-olympians-tommie-smith-and-john-carlos-raised-their-fists-for-racial-justice IN '68, OLYMPIANS TOMMIE SMITH AND JOHN CARLOS RAISED THEIR FISTS FOR RACIAL JUSTICE KENNY MOORE AUGUST 05, 1991 TABLE OF CONTENTS ORIGINAL LAYOUT On Oct. 16, 1968, minutes after the Olympic 200-meter dash in Mexico City, gold medalist Tommie Smith and bronze medalist John Carlos stood in stocking feet on the victory platform, bowed their heads during the U.S. national anthem and shot black-gloved fists to the sky. They meant their unshod feet to represent black poverty, Smith's black scarf and Carlos's beads to signify black lynchings, their fists to mean black unity and power. Any resemblance to Lady Liberty lifting her torch was ironic, for Smith and Carlos were taking U.S. society to task for having failed to extend liberty and justice to all. The tableau was riveting and grim. Most of th...

https://edition.cnn.com/2012/04/24/sport/olympics-norman-black-power/?fbclid=IwY2xjawF54W5leHRuA2FlbQIxMAABHc9L8WXIDNAI1zDFEoUIlT7QbGVR5Ku8Jl7THda1glWUf2ONLqlhHf1yBA_aem_JLjP2iAnBTpNCLWDKpelwA James Montague, CNN Updated 9:50 AM EDT, Wed April 25, 2012 The forgotten hero — This salute made Smith and Carlos famous. But what of sprinter Peter Norman, who finished second? Salute the Movie The forgotten Black Power hero 1 of 8 PrevNext CNN — It is perhaps the most iconic sports photograph ever taken. Captured at the medal ceremony for the men’s 200 meters at the 1968 Mexico Olympics, U.S. sprinter Tommie Smith stands defiantly, head bowed, his black-gloved fist thrust into the thin air. Behind him fellow American John Carlos joins with his own Black Power salute, an act of defiance aimed at highlighting the segregation and racism burning back in their homeland. It was an act that scandalized the Olympics. Smith and Carlos were sent home in disgrace and banned from the Olympics for life. Bu...