Spring Break
Speed, power, defiance
Jon Xavier
Issue date: 10/9/08 Section: Still Standing Tall
"I was surprised at the magnitude of what they did," Noel said. "They took it a lot further than anything I expected them to do. I think they took it a lot further then I would have thought to do myself if I had been there."
"I thought it was beautiful," Edwards said.
Not everyone agreed. The next day, International Olympic Committee President Avery Brundage called an emergency meeting on the protest. The committee voted to expel Smith and Carlos from any further Olympic activities and recommended that the U.S. Olympic Committee send the two sprinters home. The USOC initially refused, according to Olympic historian C. Robert Paul, Jr.
That night, the USOC sent Jesse Owens, a black athlete who had attained international fame in track and field at the 1936 Olympics, to talk to Smith and Carlos, according to a 1968 article in Life magazine.
Owens told them that the IOC was accusing them of violating the precepts of the games, and told them that the USOC was being pressured to send them home. He proposed that the athletes agree on a clear form of protest that wouldn't offend anyone. But the athletes declined, insisting that they be given the freedom to express themselves.
The next day, Paul said, the IOC met again. This time the committee had a stronger message for its American counterpart: Expel Smith and Carlos, or the entire U.S. track and field team would be barred from competition.
The USOC complied, and Smith and Carlos were given 48 hours to leave the country by the Mexican government.
Lloyd LaCuesta, then a reporter for the Spartan Daily, said he decided to meet them at the airport when they came back.
"It was a very interesting scene at the San Jose airport, because at that time the news media tended to be all white. So there was a bunch of old, white men standing around saying, 'Do you know what he looks like? Do you know what he looks like?'" LaCuesta said. "These guys ran to the first tall, black person they saw get off the airplane. And that wasn't Tommie."
"I thought it was beautiful," Edwards said.
Not everyone agreed. The next day, International Olympic Committee President Avery Brundage called an emergency meeting on the protest. The committee voted to expel Smith and Carlos from any further Olympic activities and recommended that the U.S. Olympic Committee send the two sprinters home. The USOC initially refused, according to Olympic historian C. Robert Paul, Jr.
That night, the USOC sent Jesse Owens, a black athlete who had attained international fame in track and field at the 1936 Olympics, to talk to Smith and Carlos, according to a 1968 article in Life magazine.
Owens told them that the IOC was accusing them of violating the precepts of the games, and told them that the USOC was being pressured to send them home. He proposed that the athletes agree on a clear form of protest that wouldn't offend anyone. But the athletes declined, insisting that they be given the freedom to express themselves.
The next day, Paul said, the IOC met again. This time the committee had a stronger message for its American counterpart: Expel Smith and Carlos, or the entire U.S. track and field team would be barred from competition.
The USOC complied, and Smith and Carlos were given 48 hours to leave the country by the Mexican government.
Lloyd LaCuesta, then a reporter for the Spartan Daily, said he decided to meet them at the airport when they came back.
"It was a very interesting scene at the San Jose airport, because at that time the news media tended to be all white. So there was a bunch of old, white men standing around saying, 'Do you know what he looks like? Do you know what he looks like?'" LaCuesta said. "These guys ran to the first tall, black person they saw get off the airplane. And that wasn't Tommie."
Viewing Comments 1 - 2 of 2
Tomek
posted 10/10/08 @ 12:06 AM PST
Great Special section! Great articles! I would love to see those more often!
Audrey Truong
posted 10/13/08 @ 11:21 PM PST
I see their statue everyday at school, but never knew the historical meaning behind it. Thank you so much for writing this article.
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