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Students Want "Black Power" Statue
a great moment in olympic, black and American history. 
San Jose State Students Want "Black Power" Statue
Associated Press ^ | May 15, 2003 | Juliana Barbassa
SAN JOSE, Calif. - Thirty-five years after Tommie Smith and John Carlos bowed their heads and raised their fists on the Olympic podium in a black power salute, students at their alma mater want to commemorate the controversial gesture with a statue.
The image of the sprinters raising black-gloved fists in the air as the U.S. flag was hoisted and "The Star-Spangled Banner" played is reflective of 1968 — a turbulent year of protest demonstrations and the assassinations of Martin Luther King Jr. and Robert Kennedy.
But decades later, awareness of the demonstration at the Mexico City Games has faded at San Jose State University.
Most students don't know who Smith and Carlos are, or the significance of what they did, said Erik Grotz, a senior who only discovered last year that the Olympians attended his university. That's why Grotz has organized a campaign to commemorate the athletes' activism.
"I couldn't understand why the campus didn't acknowledge their efforts as student activists," said Grotz, who thinks such a protest could resonate with students today. "It would be an inspiration to other students. It would prove to them they can make an impact now."
This is an opportunity for the university and the community to give the athletes the welcome they didn't get decades ago, said Alfonso de Alba, executive director of Associated Students, the university's student government body.
"Thirty-five years ago they were chastised and shunned by the community," Alba said. "Years later, we want to say welcome back. This is the way it should have been."
Smith and Carlos had been influenced by their activist friend, Harry Edwards, a fellow student-athlete at San Jose State. Edwards later became a teacher at the university, and was a leader of the movement to boycott the Olympics to protest racism.
The boycott never happened. Smith won the gold medal in the 200 meters, breaking the world record, and Carlos took the bronze. They used their moment in the spotlight to stage a silent protest against the injustices blacks faced.
Their act cost them dearly, and they were sent home.
"I was vilified overnight," said Carlos, now a track coach and counselor at Palm Springs High School. "Friends walked away, job opportunities were not there, I couldn't pay my bills. My first wife took her life in part because of what happened."
Both Smith and Carlos got hate mail.
"What they did changed the way we look at sports and its relation to society," said Edwards, now head of Oakland's Parks and Recreation Department. "The statue will generate dialogue, and show others that things move ahead because good people are willing to sacrifice for change."
The Associated Students have begun fund-raising efforts for the statue, and the university — which supports the commemoration — is offering its expertise to help organize such an effort.
Students will hold a reception Oct. 16, the 35th anniversary of the salute, to choose the sculptor who will design the statue.
San Jose State Students Want "Black Power" Statue
Associated Press ^ | May 15, 2003 | Juliana Barbassa
SAN JOSE, Calif. - Thirty-five years after Tommie Smith and John Carlos bowed their heads and raised their fists on the Olympic podium in a black power salute, students at their alma mater want to commemorate the controversial gesture with a statue.
The image of the sprinters raising black-gloved fists in the air as the U.S. flag was hoisted and "The Star-Spangled Banner" played is reflective of 1968 — a turbulent year of protest demonstrations and the assassinations of Martin Luther King Jr. and Robert Kennedy.
But decades later, awareness of the demonstration at the Mexico City Games has faded at San Jose State University.
Most students don't know who Smith and Carlos are, or the significance of what they did, said Erik Grotz, a senior who only discovered last year that the Olympians attended his university. That's why Grotz has organized a campaign to commemorate the athletes' activism.
"I couldn't understand why the campus didn't acknowledge their efforts as student activists," said Grotz, who thinks such a protest could resonate with students today. "It would be an inspiration to other students. It would prove to them they can make an impact now."
This is an opportunity for the university and the community to give the athletes the welcome they didn't get decades ago, said Alfonso de Alba, executive director of Associated Students, the university's student government body.
"Thirty-five years ago they were chastised and shunned by the community," Alba said. "Years later, we want to say welcome back. This is the way it should have been."
Smith and Carlos had been influenced by their activist friend, Harry Edwards, a fellow student-athlete at San Jose State. Edwards later became a teacher at the university, and was a leader of the movement to boycott the Olympics to protest racism.
The boycott never happened. Smith won the gold medal in the 200 meters, breaking the world record, and Carlos took the bronze. They used their moment in the spotlight to stage a silent protest against the injustices blacks faced.
Their act cost them dearly, and they were sent home.
"I was vilified overnight," said Carlos, now a track coach and counselor at Palm Springs High School. "Friends walked away, job opportunities were not there, I couldn't pay my bills. My first wife took her life in part because of what happened."
Both Smith and Carlos got hate mail.
"What they did changed the way we look at sports and its relation to society," said Edwards, now head of Oakland's Parks and Recreation Department. "The statue will generate dialogue, and show others that things move ahead because good people are willing to sacrifice for change."
The Associated Students have begun fund-raising efforts for the statue, and the university — which supports the commemoration — is offering its expertise to help organize such an effort.
Students will hold a reception Oct. 16, the 35th anniversary of the salute, to choose the sculptor who will design the statue.
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