Olympians Smith, Carlos (finally) get their just due

Nearly 51 years ago the U.S. Olympic Committee wrongly expelled San Jose State University track stars Tommie Smith and John Carlos from the Summer Olympics for their iconic stand against racism and discrimination. For decades, the committee never made any form of apology.

Until Monday, when the organization announced it would bestow Smith and Carlos with its highest honor Nov. 1, induction into the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Hall of Fame.

It’s about time.

We hope Smith and Carlos use the opportunity to accomplish what they set out to do from the beginning: Encourage everyone, including athletes, to speak out against social injustice.

To this day, too many people still misinterpret what Smith and Carlos set out to accomplish Oct. 16, 1968, when the two sprinters stood on the Olympic podium in Mexico City and raised their black-gloved fists during the playing of the Star Spangled Banner. They weren’t trying to dishonor the American flag. They were trying to raise consciousness about basic human rights.

It’s important to recall the racial tensions in the United States leading up to the day that Smith won the 200-meter gold medal and Carlos captured the bronze: Six months before the Mexico City Games, Martin Luther King Jr. was assassinated. Two months later, presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy was killed on the night he won the California Democratic Party primary. Riots were taking place around the country, including a violent clash between police and protesters at the Democratic National Convention in Chicago.

In response, San Jose State professor Harry Edwards, who was a mentor to Smith and Carlos, created the Olympic Project for Human Rights. They saw the Mexico City Olympics as an opportunity to highlight the need for black pride and social consciousness. They also wanted to expose the historical exploitation of black athletes, demand the hiring of more black coaches and rescind Olympic invitations to the two countries that practiced apartheid, Rhodesia and South Africa.

Smith and Carlos paid dearly for their protests. The USOC’s misinterpretation of their protest made them reviled Olympians. They both briefly played professional football but later found it difficult to find work.

It’s heartening that San Jose State students years ago recognized their contributions to social justice and raised the money for the statue of Smith and Carlos that stands in the center of campus.

We hope that their Hall of Fame induction will enable more athletes to feel comfortable speaking out against injustices. History has repeatedly demonstrated that those with access to media attention can contribute to social progress.

More than anything, the Hall of Fame induction represents acknowledgement of what Smith and Carlos have known from the beginning: They were on the right side of the civil rights debate and deserve to be honored for their athletic achievements and their courageous stand against social injustice.

— San Jose Mercury News,

MediaNews Group