Tommie Smith

Tommie Smith was the Olympics gold medalist in the 1968 Olympic games which was held in Mexico City that year. Smith smashed the world record with a time of 19.8 seconds. His teammate John Carlos won the bronze that same year and competition. Both Carlos and Smith were part of an organization called the Olympic Project for Human Right or otherwise known as the OPHR. The founder of the organizations was a sociologist and college professor, Harry Edwards. Tommie Smith was one of the original members that helped to get the group up and running. Edwards states that “the group's mission as affecting the liberation of blacks in the united states and elsewhere by using the international platform provided by an in sports”. The group set up many different attempts to fight for human rights such as boycotting the New York Athletic Club's annual track meet in 1968 but none were as successful as the 1968 Olympic games Tommie Smith and John Carlos too their stand for human right. While standing upon the podium, both athletes took their shoes off, rolled up their pant sleeves to reveal long black socks. The athletes then continued to put on a black scarf and one black glove each.…

Two American black athletes, Tommie Smith, and John Carlos, took a stand during the American National Anthem at the 1968 Olympics in Mexico City, Mexico, by raising a black-gloved fist and bowing their heads in a silent protest against racial issues in the U.S, known as the Black Power salute. Find symbols in another source. At the moment, the United States was dealing with civil rights and racial discrimination issues. Tommie Smith and John Carlos took the opportunity to show their thoughts on…

were fighting against racial discrimination, Tommie Smith and John Carlos took a stand that many viewed as black power radicalism. While standing on the 1968 Mexico City Olympic podium, during the National Anthem, the two men quietly bowed their heads and each raised their black glove colored fist. Immediately, this action raised awareness towards black rights. By the time of the 1968 Summer Olympics in Mexico City, the United States had gone through years of upheaval and anger. The country was…

His threat to expel any athlete from the games or any future games if they participated in any political protest during the games meant that athletes were afraid to act in this manner. There were also numerous death threats towards African American athletes. It looked to be that any hope of addressing the issue of America’s civil rights issue to world seemed lost using the Olympics as a venue for this. However this was to all change in the 200m Final where two members of O.P.H.R (Olympic…

Olympic games Tommie Smith and John Carlos stood up and did the black power salute instead of singing the national anthem. The political, religious and racial actions committed at the games were ultimately ineffective and the Olympics were not the time or the place to do such disruptive…

it would have consequences? That's exactly what Tommie Smith and his teammates did. They knew they needed to stand up for Black rights while they had an audience to make a difference, and that's exactly what they did. That is how Tommie Smith made a positive impact on society. During Tommie's childhood, Tommie experienced racism, segregation, and was often treated differently because of the color of his skin. Tommie was at a young age when he realized he had a talent for track. He has always…

door of opportunity was pretty much closed from birth for him. Dr. Carlos explained how he did not let that stop him for going for his dream. He explained all the sports he tried and worked at and then finally Track and Field would be his answer. He got to the Olympics, but that was not his only dream at the time anymore. He wanted to stand up and show America was not as great to black people as outsiders thought. He had a chance to learn from the best, Malcom X and Martin Luther King Jr. on…

In order to become talented in a specific sport it takes practice, patience, and athleticism but over time it is very possible for an ordinary person to achieve this status. However, in order to become the best in the world, that presents a completely different story. Through the eyes of both Tom “Digger” Stapleton and Sadie Jorgensen in Angie Abdou’s novel The Bone Cage, the reader quickly learns the difference between becoming an athlete and becoming an Olympian. Both of these Olympic hopefuls…

Introduction The popular television show “Fresh Prince of Bel-Air” first aired on September 10th, 1990 (IMDb, 2016). The television show grew in popularity and lasted until May 20th, 1996, consisting of six seasons and 148 episodes (IMDb, 2016). The protagonist of the sitcom, Will Smith, is a young Black street-smart teenager born and raised in a working class neighbourhood who is forced to move to his affluent Aunt and Uncle's house in Bel-Air, California. Will's Mother forces him to move as a…

This past Thursday I visited the Smith Academy for Excellence and was surprised at how the school worked to help the boys learn best. We learned that most of the boys come from a poverty stricken neighborhood with many family problems. Along with this, a majority of the students were African American but there were also a few Caucasians and Latinos. The age/grade range of the boys is from second grade up until twelfth. They are extremely proud that this is the first year they will have a…