Tommie Smith

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Biography

Tommie Smith (center) and John Carlos (right) showing the Black Panther salute in the 1968 Summer Olympics while Silver medalist Peter Norman (left) wears an OPHR badge to show his support for the two Americans.

While a student at San Jose State, Smith won the national collegiate 220 yd (201 m) title in 1967 before adding the AAU furlong (201 m) crown as well. He repeated as AAU 200 m champion in 1968 and made the Olympic team. In the 1968 Olympic Games at Mexico City, he won the gold medal for the 200 m in a world record time 19.83 s, he and a teammate, John Carlos, who earned the bronze, gave a Black Power salute while receiving their medals. Silver medalist Peter Norman, a white Australian, donned a human rights badge on the podium in support of their protest.

Some people felt that a political statement had no place in the international forum of the Olympic Games. In an immediate response to their actions, Smith and Carlos were suspended from the U.S. team and banned from the Olympic Village. Those that opposed the protest cried out that the actions disgraced all Americans. Supporters, on the other hand, praised the men for bravery. The men's gesture had lingering effects for both Smith and Carlos, the most serious of which were death threats against them and their families.

Even while attending Lemoore High School, he showed major potential, setting most of the school's track records, many of which remain unbroken. After graduating, Smith played professional football with the Cincinnati Bengals for three years. He later became a track coach at Oberlin College in Ohio, where he also taught sociology, and now is a faculty member at Santa Monica College in Santa Monica, California.

During his career, Smith set seven individual world records and also was a member of several world record relay teams at San Jose State. With all-time bests of 10.1 for 100 m, 19.83 for 200 m and 44.5 for the 400 m, Smith still ranks high on the all-time lists.

He became a member of the National Track and Field Hall of Fame in 1978. In 1996 Tommie Smith was inducted into the California Black Sports Hall of Fame, and in 1999 he received the Sportsman of the Millennium Award. In 2000 - 2001 the County of Los Angeles and the State of Texas presented Tommie Smith with Commendation, Recognition and Proclamation Awards.

See also

• Timeline of the American Civil Rights Movement

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