Biking buddy Bill and I were surprised there were no activities scheduled in downtown San Jose in honor of Martin Luther King, Jr’s birthday yesterday. We decided to cut through the San Jose State University (SJSU) campus and I had a “duh,” moment. Right before us, as Bill reminded me, was the bigger than life olympic medal awards podium that we have seen before. It is associated with a silent protest by two San Jose State University African-American track and field medal winners, Tommie Smith and John Carlos. At the 1968 summer games in Mexico City, Smith won the 200 meters track gold medal, and Carlos took the bronze.
As the Star Spangled Banner played, both athletes, standing shoeless, bowed their heads and raised their fists in a defiant black power salute until the music ended. They intended to place the world spotlight on human rights, particularly injustice and inequality for African Americans. Unfortunately it was perceived as an aggressive political act. They were booed by the stadium audiences, and ceremony etiquette experts around the world became enraged. The two sprinters were expelled from the games and received numerous death threats to boot.
It took decades for the fury to die down, and in 2005, SJSU unveiled a heroic sized tribute—a 23 ft. tall sculpture of that moment in history they stood on the medalist awards podium.
The university sculpture conspicuously leaves out the 2nd place medalist, Australian Peter Norman (see the black and white photograph), who was criticized for wearing an Olympic Project for Human Rights pin, in solidarity with Smith and Carlos, who wore them. Norman declined to be depicted in the sculpture, which left the silver medal tier platform I was standing on—with Bill to my left open. Visitors are welcomed to pose and raise a fist. It so happened we met a friendly woman who was admiring the sculpture and offered to take our photograph with one of the most iconic images in world history.
