Olympic medalist still outspoken 42 years later
John Carlos is pictured left at Victoria Gardens Friday night. Above, Carlos stands right at the 1968 Olympics.
Micah Escamilla/Correspondent
You'd think age quiets a person, makes you less bold.
Not John Carlos. At 64, the Olympic medalist is just as defiant as he was when he raised a gloved fist into the Mexico City night.
"I didn't want to be an activist," Carlos told a crowd of more than 200 last night at the Victoria Gardens Cultural Center. "Martin Luther King didn't want to be an activist. Malcolm X didn't want to be an activist. Rosa Parks didn't want to be an activist. Marcus Garvey didn't want to be an activist.
"But think of the world today, with all the cynical people, if there weren't any activists. I guess we'd be sliding to the back of the bus."
As the special guest of the Black History Month Cultural Arts Night, Carlos spoke about the 1968 Olympics and the aftermath of his black power salute.
Carlos told stories about growing up in Harlem and attending Frederick Douglass Junior High, a school adorned with pictures of white presidents but kept none of the famed orator.
By 1968, Carlos, like so many disenfranchised blacks of the time, was
disillusioned.
A slideshow put together by Biane Library's Adam Tuckerman reminded everyone just how tumultuous 1968 was. The My Lai massacre and the assassinations of Martin Luther King Jr. and Robert Kennedy all took place months before the games in Mexico City.
After Carlos and gold medalist Tommie Smith drew headlines at the Olympics, things got much worst.
"When we put our fists in the sky, all the joy that was there before turned into cussing, turned into venom," Carlos said.
The death threats piled up shortly afterward. Carlos couldn't make ends meet. His wife committed suicide.
In his hour-long speech, Carlos challenged parents in the audience to encourage and discipline their children, took today's superstar athletes to task and praised Shani Smith for breaking the color barrier in speed skating.
Jeffrey Richards of Rancho Cucamonga brought his family to hear Carlos speak. Although Richards could not get his framed poster of the iconic 1968 image signed, he was very happy that he got to meet Carlos.
"That's the same John Carlos. That same fighting spirit," Richards said. "He doesn't sugar coat anything. There's very few people who say how they feel without worrying about the repercussions."
For more about Carlos' speech at Victoria Gardens, read Sunday's article here.
A slideshow put together by Biane Library's Adam Tuckerman reminded everyone just how tumultuous 1968 was. The My Lai massacre and the assassinations of Martin Luther King Jr. and Robert Kennedy all took place months before the games in Mexico City.
After Carlos and gold medalist Tommie Smith drew headlines at the Olympics, things got much worst.
"When we put our fists in the sky, all the joy that was there before turned into cussing, turned into venom," Carlos said.
The death threats piled up shortly afterward. Carlos couldn't make ends meet. His wife committed suicide.
In his hour-long speech, Carlos challenged parents in the audience to encourage and discipline their children, took today's superstar athletes to task and praised Shani Smith for breaking the color barrier in speed skating.
Jeffrey Richards of Rancho Cucamonga brought his family to hear Carlos speak. Although Richards could not get his framed poster of the iconic 1968 image signed, he was very happy that he got to meet Carlos.
"That's the same John Carlos. That same fighting spirit," Richards said. "He doesn't sugar coat anything. There's very few people who say how they feel without worrying about the repercussions."
For more about Carlos' speech at Victoria Gardens, read Sunday's article here.
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