HOME | POLITICS | SPORTS | LIFE | SCI/TECH | OPEDS | HELPFUL TIPS
|
June 1, 2005 Recently San Jose State University decided to pay tribute to two former students who were medal winners at the 1968 Summer Olympics. These athletes also became symbols of the Black Power movement in the United States. The men, John Carlos and Tommie Smith won medals in the 200-meters—Smith the gold and Carlos, the Bronze. But their victories were secondary to what happened afterward.. It sparked a controversy that got them kicked off the U.S. Olympic team and sent home. Like Muhammad Ali, these two black men sacrificed the prime of their lives to stand up for what they believed in. Smith, then a 24-year old sprint champion and Carlos, 23, stood on the podium during the medal ceremony, bowed their heads and thrust their black gloved fists into the air. Yes, it was symbolic—a protest of America’s maltreatment of black people. But the clenched fist had always been symbolic, and being that these were black fists, it conjured up the two most feared words in America at the time: BLACK POWER. "Black Power" frightened mainstream America because many felt it was a call for blacks to arm themselves and start a violent revolution. The idea that black men were being told to stand up and fight back went against the tenor of the Civil Rights movement, which had been based on passive reactions to dogs, firehoses and police nightsticks. Stokely Carmichael, the man attributed with popularizing the phrase, said it best: "…Rampaging white mobs and white night-riders must be made to understand that their days of free head-whipping are over. Black people should and must fight back. Nothing more quickly repels someone bent on destroying you than the unequivocal message: ‘O.K., fool, make your move, and run the same risk I run of dying’." Even Martin Luther King misunderstood the phrase thinking it was a call for black supremacy, adding, ""Black supremacy would be equally as evil as white supremacy." In reality, Black Power was a call for establishing black control over the black community. This meant creating institutions for black people, by black people and that emphasized black culture and economic empowerment. Although Smith and Carlos’ protest had been a non-violent declaration, many Americans acted in a historical vein. They threatened violence against these two men of color who dared to take a stand. (See "Cointelpro", lynchings, Robert F. Williams, Muhammad Ali, Martin Luther King, Black Panther Party, etc.) Four years later, Vince Matthews and Wayne Collette would also protest during Olympic medal ceremonies. After finishing 1-2 in the 400-meters both men refused to stand during the playing of the American national anthem. These were the options blacks had: Acquiescence or action. Smith said his salute "Represents black power." Carlos declared his action a call for "Black unity." In a 1998 interview, Smith said that despite the death threats, he "has no regrets" for his protest. The image of Carlos and Smith thrusting their black gloved fists into the air was indelibly etched in my mind. If I developed Alzheimer’s disease and could remember but one thing from my life, that would be it. The fact that I heard teachers at summer school talking about how "disgusted" they were by it, and how "un-American" it was, provided proof positive that America was racially polarized. Sadly, it still is. ------------ About the author: Timothy Stelly is the 45-year old author of "Tempest In The Stone" and the upcoming, "The Malice of Cain". He resides in Pittsburg, California with his three youngest children Dante, Kimberly and Lawrence. I have a new website: stellbread0.tripod.com Email: stellbread@sbcglobal.com Tell a friend about this site! ------------ All articles are EXCLUSIVE to Useless-Knowledge.com and are not allowed to be posted on other websites. ARTICLE THIEVES WILL BE PROSECUTED! |
||||||
|
|
|||||||
|
