Tommie Smith

National Anthem Protests As you go to sporting events, you hear the National Anthem being played before the athletes start their sporting event. The reason for this is to honor those who served and protect our country and for those who are still doing so. Recently, many NFL (National Football League) players have oppose to stand for the National Anthem. In 2016 Colin Kaepernick, who played football for the San Francisco 49er’s, started a protest trend to kneel for the National Anthem.…

Years after this groundbreaking event Smith stated that they “were just human beings who understood there was a need to bring attention to the inequality in our country.” Carlos was quoted saying that they knew that what there were going to do “was far greater than any athletic feat”. Fifty years after Muhammad Ali’s protest of the draft and forty-eight years after Tommie Smith and John Carlos raised their fist for human rights, athletes today are still using…

Practices Essay Assignment In America sports are considered a big deal to many people. Many Americans watch sports to cast away their problems form the daily mishaps of the world. So, when politics merges with spots this upsets many Americans. I do believe that many famous athletes should voice the problems of the Nation. Because if they don’t then who will, who will pay attention to the little guys who don’t have a big influence on the nation. In other consideration to this we are…

According to the Oxford English Dictionary the definition of the word activism is defined as, “the use of vigorous campaigning to bring about political or social change” (Citation). When people do not agree with a topic or trying to raise awareness for a cause, they are taking part in activism. The topic of activism is evident in just about everything we do in our daily lives. One example of where activism is evident is in art work. Activism is evident in a majority of artwork, for example…

The Social and Political Outbreaks of the 1960s Olympics “Bang”! The runners jump off their blocks from the start and begin to pick up lightning speed. Faster and faster, one runner breaks away, and you hear the crowd roar with excitement when the runner gets closer and closer to crossing the finish line with a new world record. The Olympics has become an amazing way to showcase worldwide competition while putting political and social issues aside. Although, not every Olympics has run as…

the U.S. flag and burn it? Is that showing appreciation for our great times?” However, through consequences, everyone can still see the lesson the athlete is getting across. Are the opponents trying to stop the meaning from getting to the world? Tommie Smith and John Carlos were stripped of their Olympic Medals. And it took our blessed country years, years to acknowledge the courage and wisdom that the brave souls shined in the darkness of hatred! What professional athletes do, creates an…

Patriotism: Should an approved display be required? “True patriotism hates injustice in its own land more than anywhere else” (Farrell). As the controversy between Black Lives Matter and All Lives Matter continues to divide our country, one’s patriotism comes in question if they decide to take a stance one way or another. Patriotism is defined as “love people feel for their country” (Merriam-Webster). Some people interpret this to mean displaying the American Flag, singing and standing of…

Black Power Movements as A Violent Force to Ending Racial Oppression Millions of Americans were shocked when Olympic runners Tommie Smith and John Carlos stood on the award platform at the 1968 summer games in Mexico City bowed their heads and raised gloved fist hands during the playing of national anthem of the United States. In contrast, millions more people around the world excited to seeing two fearless African Americans and a white Australian, Peter Norman, standing solidly before the…

championship three times. Bill Russell- Won a total of eleven championship rings. Willie Mays- An incredible baseball player of the time period. Next I looked at race in sports during this time. The following is what I found. In 1968 John Carlos and Tommie Smith raised their fists in the air in the Black Power salute. This gives you an idea of what race in sports looked like at the time, and how racist people were. The 1960s did begin changing the racial prejudice against blacks during this…

Since the first Summer Olympic Games of 1896, numerous controversies and scandals caused stirs in the sports event more often than one might think. Most involve sabotage between contestants, performance enhancing drugs, and banning of countries. However, there have been years wherein significant moments occurred both surrounding and during the date of the event. The protests of 1968, in particular, was the most meaningful and impactful because of the unified, traumatic, and even iconic protests…