ipl-logo

Power Of 1968: Tommy Smith And John Carlos

1488 Words6 Pages

Megan Conner Mrs.Henderson CWR 8 14 March,2018 The Power of 1968 1968. A time known for hippies, going to the moon, and something as simple as a black glove symbol. The need for a change was waiting to happen, and in 1968 the start of one did. One of the biggest events that started to show the change was during the summer olympics that year. Tommy Smith and John Carlos showed the whole world something quite powerful without even saying a single word. Doing so would change the life of three mens in both good and bad. The black salute Tommie Smith and John Carlos portrayed in the 1969 summer Olympics has helped shape the equality we have today and has inspired people to show their courage and what they believe in. Mexico City in 1968 was …show more content…

He was one out of the twelve kids growing up in a small household. At a young age Tommy had a serious case of pneumonia, but was back on his feet in no time. In highschool he made a name for himself while playing football and running sprints in track at Lemoore High School. After graduating Tommie went on to go to San José State University where he ran track. Here he set multiple records in sprinting and relay events and also broke or tied 13 world records Smith was born for greatness and his mind was set on the gold medal at the summer olympics. At the 200 meter race, where he later would do the silent protest, he not only won gold, but also broke the Olympic-record time of 19.83 seconds. During an interview with Smith after the Olympics Tommie stated, "On the track you are Tommie Smith, the fastest man in the world, but once you are in the dressing rooms you are nothing more than a dirty Negro." This shows that not even after winning gold Tommie wasn't treated equal to other athletes who were white. After the salute Tommie was banned from even competing in the olympics again, but nobody could ever stop what his powerful message helped show. A year later in 1945 John Carlos was born in Harlem,New York. At his high school, Machine Trade and Medical High School, Carlos was a star football player and runner. After graduating he would also attend San José State University while running for their track and field program with Tommie Smith. In 1967 during the Pan American games located in Winnipeg, Manitoba,Canada, Carlos won gold in the 200 meter dash. The same year during the indoor track and field season he set two world records. One in the 60 yard dash with a time of 5.9 seconds .and the 220 yard dash with a time of 21.2

Show More
Related
523 Words | 3 Pages

Throughout the years he proved to himself, his family, and his fans he was a skilled running-back. Adrian, in 2004, graduated high school and went to college. As a rookie he set a NFL record against the Chargers by rushing for two-hundred ninety-six yards. Later, that year in 2007 he won the NFL rookie of the year.

Read More
430 Words | 2 Pages

Mill’s great accomplishments are he tried out track and was so good that after he graduated from Haskell he recieved an athletic scholarship to Kansas University. He started running to channel his energy into something positive. In high school, his gift for running became more apparent as he

Read More
554 Words | 3 Pages

Among many common issues that consume the world today, race is one that has been around for generations. Jesse Owens, a four time Olympic Gold Medalist in track and field, knows about this issue all too well. While attending college at Ohio State University he tied a world record and broke three others. In the 1936 Berlin Games, he broke or equaled 9 Olympic records and set three world records. Outside of track and field, however, Owens was the grandson of slaves and had endured racial battles his entire life.

Read More
1251 Words | 6 Pages

After all of this happened, he managed the unthinkable when he obtained a Nazi salute from Hitler after proving him wrong (Israel 2). The same year he won The associated Press Athlete of the Year Award. Jesse had accomplished so much that many Ivy league schools desired his presence. On top of his 3 previous broken records, in 1937 he broke another five records and tieing a sixth one (bio.com). He did this all in a matter of 40 minutes (Israel 16).

Read More
614 Words | 3 Pages

Jim Thorpe was an elite athlete of the 20th century and was considered to be one of the greatest athletes of all time, not only did he overcome racism and discrimination as a Native American, he also achieved lots of accomplishments throughout his athletic and acting career. Jim Thorpe was born on May 28, 1888, near Prague, Indian Territory (now in Oklahoma), United States. He attended Carlisle Indian Industrial School. (Adam Augustyn 1). Jim Thorpe won the first gold medal as a Native American in both pentathlon and decathlon at the Stockholm 1912 Olympic Games.

Read More
270 Words | 2 Pages

Racism in the the 1900s The John. F.Kennedy story was one of the greatest president moments caught on camera they even called his finest moment because that was the day that he told the white man get out of the way of the black people that have come to participate in school. That was a big deal back then because racism was a lot bigger than what it is today the reason is because back then were a lot of problems with racism but one of them that pop up most is the story of William Minner, that day his dad and him went to the spring’s to get water this spring was open to both white and black. When they were in line two white men grabbed his dad the reason was because the line in front of them were only white people they told him that

Read More
931 Words | 4 Pages

The people who were against segregation and promoted civil rights helped to accomplish what we call today, an integrated society. During the Civil Rights Revolution, there were many prominent figures such as Jackie Robinson, the first major league baseball player who influenced the court’s decision to integrate society. Not only did Jackie Robinson play major league baseball, but he also ran track, played basketball and football. He played these college sports at UCLA, USC and Pasadena Junior College, which are predominately white colleges. Even though Robinson was black he was still desired on college teams because he possessed amazing talent.

Read More
588 Words | 3 Pages

The film prejudice and pride, revealed the struggle of Mexican Americans in the 1960s-1970s. In the film it showed Mexican Americans, frustration by the President discrimination and poverty. In this film I learned about the movement that led to the Chicano identity. This movement sparked, when the farm workers in the fields of California, marched on Sacramento for equal pay and humane working conditions. This march was led by César Chavez and Dolores Huerta.

Read More
1528 Words | 7 Pages

Jesse Owens had a great career at Ohio State. One memorable moment was the NCAA Championships. Jesse Owens competed in the 100-yard dash, 200-yard dash and the broad jump. Jesse Owens won all three of these events. Ohio State came in second place just behind USC.

Read More
649 Words | 3 Pages

In the 1960s, the Chicano movement started to gain momentum. Chicanos began banding together to protect others while discovering their own self-identity. One source says that, a newfound gratitude for Chicano culture was detected. It goes on to state that, a “cultural rebirth was proclaimed” which had been provoked by “rediscovery” and an acknowledgement of their collective indigenous roots. The author adds that, it was a chance to uncover “a positive self-definition” (Rodriguez, "Building Aztlan: Chicano Movement Springs Back to Life").

Read More
464 Words | 2 Pages

How often in the 60’s would we you have the minority of white people on a basketball team? That's what we had happed during the movie Glory Road. We followed a coach who made a team who he thought would win with. We saw them getting crap for the color of the boys on his team. As you watch you see many possible themes but the one that i thought stuck out was courage.

Read More
1996 Words | 8 Pages

Thesis From the mid 1910s to the early 1960s there were many riots that occured, because of racial tensions built up between the the whites and the blacks world wide. Coming from Will Brown being accused of rapping a young white girl, and to Eugene Williams having rocks thrown at him causing him to drown. Segregation at this time was unjustified due to racism still being heavily considered as the right thing to do. These riots caused the United States to be even more segregated, due to unequal rights and no laws being created at the time to help and protect African Americans. During these riots there were cases of police brutality and whites being able to do whatever they choose to do, because they felt as if it was a justified reason to stop the African Americans from rioting.

Read More
1510 Words | 7 Pages

The Black power movement was more than just a raised fist. It was an influential movement established in the 1960s, and began to slow down in the 70s, it promoted self-sufficiency among the black and African community, and they fought for equality and power among those who faced discrimination in society. The Civil Rights Movement and the Black Power Movement were two different movements with very similar motives, but different ways of going about their fight for equality. Symbolism played a significant role in representing the Black Power Movement, and helped unify the group by using one symbol that all recognized. The movement began as a reaction to the Civil Rights Movement and continued into the 1970s as a force for good.

Read More
823 Words | 4 Pages

Steven Sternberg Mrs. Burns English 1 CP 1 March, 2018 The Flag Protest “I am not going to stand up to show pride in a flag for a country that oppresses black people and people of color” (Kaepernick, Colin). The flag protest has been a protest existing for a long time but, recently sparked lots of controversy. Although kneeling during the national anthem may seem disrespectful are often seen as a disrespect to the flag and troops, a inefficient way to promote a cause, and anger many people in shows division in the country, it can show that the ideals of freedom is justified, it generates conversation and awareness about topic, and is a legal form of peaceful protest.

Read More
1791 Words | 8 Pages

Memory is defined as the length of time over which a person or event continues to be remembered or commemorated (Oxford Dictionary, ‘Memory’). The events of May 1968 in France is remembered and commemorated in various ways. One of the ways in which it is remembered is as a means of socio-economic and sexual liberation. However, there have been disagreements between historians and those in politics in relation to the reality of the events and the discourses written about the memory of May 1968. This essay seeks to examine the reasons how the memory of May 1968 has changed over time by comparing historical analyses and uses of the memory within politics.

Read More

More about Power Of 1968: Tommy Smith And John Carlos

Related Topics

Open Document