Spartan Daily - Serving San Jose State University since 1934

Issue date: 10/9/08 Section: Still Standing Tall

Media Credit: Courtesy of AP Images Tommie Smith (center) and John Carlos (right) raise their arms in protest at the 1968 Summer Olympics in Mexico City during the playing of "The Star-Spangled Banner."

When Tommie Smith and John Carlos bowed their heads and raised their black-gloved fists toward the sky at the Mexico City Olympics, their Black Power salute was embraced by some but resented by most at the time.

Years later, the two SJSU athletes are celebrated as heroes for their courageous stance against racial inequality in America.

"I think it's amazing that these two historic figures were at this school," said Kate Fisher, a junior occupational therapy major. "I think we can learn a lot about how they stood up for what was right."

Niya Levi, a senior marketing major, said he was impressed with the Tommie Smith and John Carlos Statue when he first came to SJSU.

"The Olympics didn't really support them. Neither did America. But then to have San Jose State honor them is really cool," he said.

Tommie Smith said the Statue represents where the fight for equality of SJSU athletes started.

"I come to the statue sometimes and no one knows who I am," Smith said. "So I stand there and just look at it. … I cannot look at my face because that face represents what I felt at that time and that was a cry for freedom."

When SJSU President Whitmore looks at the Smith-Carlos statue, he said he thinks about the history of the university and its concern for social justice.

"That and the Martin Luther King Library and now the Cesar Chavez arch - those are three statements that say a lot about the history of this institution and the culture and attitude of faculty and students here," he said.

Even though hundreds of students walk by the Smith-Carlos Statue every day, many of them do not know the significance of Smith and Carlos' Olympic stance.

"San Jose State has to do more to try and make students understand what this is all about," John Carlos said.

When Kimberly Uweh, a sophomore chemistry major, walks by the statue, she said she doesn't always think about its meaning.

"But every now and then I take that glance and think, 'Oh yeah, that came from my school, someone who took a stance.' … You don't really find people in our generation that stand up for anything. Most things are done for us."

Continued...

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