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\u201cVictory Salute\u201d depicts Tommie Smith and John Carlos raising their fists in protest at the 1968 Olympics. Photo by Lorraine Gabbert.<\/p>\nTrack legend and human rights advocate John Carlos spoke at San Jose State University on Wednesday beneath a statue honoring him and alumnus Tommie Smith.<\/p>\n
The event was part of the university\u2019s Legacy Month, which began in 2009. Since 2024,\u00a0 San Jose has recognized Oct. 16 as Tommie Smith and John Carlos Day. Smith could not attend Wednesday\u2019s event due to illness.<\/p>\n
The two men made history at the 1968 Summer Olympics after receiving gold and bronze medals for the 200-meter race, when they gave a Black Power salute \u2014 a raised black-gloved fist \u2014 and bowed their heads in protest during the national anthem. They each wore an Olympic Project for Human Rights badge, no shoes and black socks representing Black poverty.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Carlos said children in the South, who didn\u2019t have shoes, walked 15 miles a day to school. He said he unzipped his jacket on the Olympic podium\u00a0to represent hard-working but unappreciated blue collar workers.<\/p>\n
\u201cVictory Salute\u201d depicts Tommie Smith and John Carlos raising their fists in protest at the 1968 Olympics. Photo by Lorraine Gabbert.<\/p>\n
But the nation turned against them following their silent protest. Even Carlos\u2019 father was ashamed of him. When Carlos visited his father in the hospital on his deathbed, his father asked him why he did \u201cthat bad thing.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cMy heart dropped down to my feet,\u201d Carlos told San Jos\u00e9 Spotlight.<\/p>\n
When he asked his father what he meant, he said go read the newspaper. Carlos told his father he was still the same man and they both cried.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Carlos said people need to unite to evoke change. He hopes the statue of himself and Smith on the SJSU campus<\/a> starts conversations and moves people to act together to resolve issues.<\/p>\n \u201cI want everyone that walks by, whether you\u2019re a little grade school kid or an adult, to figure out what would possess Tommie Smith and John Carlos to go before the world and make a statement such as that,\u201d he said. \u201cWhen you question me in terms of why I did it, eventually it comes back to you, where you have to question yourself in terms of \u2018What am I doing?\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n Assemblymember Ash Kalra said through these men, San Jose State University played a pivotal role in the fight for human rights and the civil rights movement and encouraged students<\/a>\u00a0to continue the fight.<\/p>\n \u201cAs others, including those in the White House, want to erase history, we\u2019re not only going to remember our history, we\u2019re going to teach our history for generations to come,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n Kalra said he secured $9 million from the state Legislature to build a new San Jose State track<\/a> and Speed City Legacy Center. The Speed City moniker came to SJSU after its athletes competed in the 1968 Mexico City Olympics and broke the 200-meter track record.<\/p>\n Los Angeles Assemblymember Isaac Bryan, who attended the event, said it\u2019s important to hear from living legends.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cTo be on this campus, to see this statue and to hear from John Carlos is a powerful moment that I will never personally forget,\u201d he told San Jos\u00e9 Spotlight. \u201cAnd of course, wishing Tommie Smith the best in his healing journey in the hospital.\u201d<\/p>\n
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