More than 50 people gathered at San Jose State’s Olympic Black Power statue Tuesday to reflect on SJSU alumnae Tommie Smith and John Carlos’ activism and their significance across the U.S..
Students, staff, faculty and community members attended the “Continuing the Smith and Carlos Legacy” event to “commemorate the legends of Speed City and their fight for racial justice.”
Scott Myers-Lipton, SJSU sociology professor and community activist, hosted the event, which was also sponsored by the Cesar E. Chavez Community Action Center, the department of sociology and Interdisciplinary Social Sciences Institute for the Study of Sport, Science and Social Change.
Myers-Lipton said the purpose of the event was to appreciate and analyze the symbolism behind Smith and Carlos’ courageous actions when they protested against racial injustice on Oct.16, 1968 at the Mexico City Olympic Games.
“On [the protest’s anniversary,] in my mind the whole university should be here, reflecting on the statues and what the statues mean,” Myers-Lipton said.
Many of the speakers discussed how Smith and Carlos’ activism applies to the fight for racial justice today.
“This is a time to, yes, remember the efforts of Smith and Carlos, remember their collective actions,” said Akilah Carter-Francique, Executive Director of the Institute for the Study of Sport, Society, and Social Change. “But it’s also an opportunity to understand that there’s a legacy amongst what they shared, and that others can glean hope from what they did and step into those shoes, step onto that podium, raise their fist, amplify their voice and really promote change.”
Myers-Lipton also highlighted the pattern of student activism at SJSU.
He said the Olympic Black Power statue is significant to student activism because it was envisioned and funded by SJSU’s Associated Students in 2005.
“[Associated Students] fought for it to be here, not to be where the football stadium is, that it's here on the campus as a symbol of student activism, the Smith [and] Carlos statues were unveiled to our campus and to the world,” Myers-Lipton said.
Myers-Lipton praised the Cesar Chavez Community Action Center’s consistent role in planning the annual legacy event.
“[The Cesar Chavez Community Action Center] are the ones that have continually and always been here for this event, to make sure that even if it's 20 people, even if it's 10 people we're not letting Oct. 16 go by and not remember of the sacrifices that people have taken on this day,” he said.
Smith and Carlos were on the SJSU track and field team and qualified to compete in the 1968 Olympics in Mexico City, according to a September 2019 SJSU Newsroom article.
After winning gold and bronze medals in the Olympics’ 200 meter race, Smith and Carlos bowed their heads and raised black-gloved fists during the national anthem in protest of racial injustices against Black Americans.
Carter-Francique said Smith and Carlos took the podium with purpose.
“They would recognize racism, poverty and lynchings of Black people, they would stand for Black Power and they would rise in unity,” she said.
Carter-Francique also said Carlos and Smith didn’t have a welcoming reception when returning back to the U.S. or at SJSU after the Olympics because of the controversy surrounding their protest.
“The aftermath of the silent gesture of the salute would be another journey of a lifetime, escorted out of the Olympic Games,” she said.
Robert Griffin, SJSU alumni and athlete during SJSU’s “Speed City” era, described the social conditions of the time.
“We would go to places and there would be ‘for rent’ signs in the window,” Griffin said. “We knock on the door and they would open the curtain, see that we were Black then close it. No way that [we] were going to get it.”
The nickname “Speed City” was given to SJSU during the period of 1956-79 because of the exceptional performance of track and field athletes led by legendary coach Bud Winters, according to the Online Archive of California.
Griffin expressed his appreciation for sports sociologist Harry Edwards and sociologist Ken Noel for inspiring activism in SJSU’s Black athletes during the Civil Rights era.
“Those two men demanded that the Black students at San Jose State be conscious, aware and awoke to what was happening to them and understand what they could do about it,” Griffin said.
Edwards is an SJSU graduate and founder of the Olympic Project for Human Rights, an organization dedicated to opposing racism and segregation in the world of athletics, according to the Interdisciplinary Social Sciences Institute for the Study of Sport, Science and Social change webpage.
He is also known for counseling former 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick when he kneeled during the National Anthem at several games in 2019 to protest against police brutality, according to a June 21 San Francisco Chronicle article.
Jahmal Williams, SJSU director of advocacy for racial justice emphasized the risk involved in fighting for equality.
“These men were willing to sacrifice their livelihood, and their lives, to take a stand to fight for Black people, to fight for justice in this country,” Williams said. “When I look at these statues every day, it reminds me of the question, ‘What am I willing to sacrifice to make the lives better for people in this country, to make lives better for Black lives, Black communities in this country?’ ”
Williams called on the SJSU community, saying racial injustice is “easily identifiable” and it’s everyone’s responsibility to make a change.
“We can look at Tommie Smith and John Carlos and know that in the end they stood for something and their life will reverberate around this world forever,” Williams said.
Sociology junior Xitlalic Castillo said Smith and Carlos’ activism inspires the fight for racial justice in herself and others.
“They’re a perfect example of standing up for what you believe in, even if it does get you killed,” Castillo said. “It’s every person’s job and every person’s obligation to speak up about the racial inequalities, inequities that are happening and are being emphasized right now.”
