By Sara Biela – Content Editor
All eyes on the international stage.
Countless people sat in front of their televisions to watch San Jose State men’s track and field stars Tommie Smith and John Carlos receive their gold and bronze medals in the 1968 Olympics.
What happened next in Mexico City would go down in history.
The human rights salute Smith and Carlos demonstrated on the podium on October 16 was talked about across the globe – both in approving and disgraceful ways.
“I was 11 years old and the youngest of seven children,” said Rodney Knox, the Executive Director of Development at SJSU. “I remember watching it with some of my brothers and sisters, and there was a real sense of pride. It really represented what we thought, understood and felt in the moment.”
“My parents’ reaction, however, was almost like fear,” he continued. “They were worried what was going to happen to Tommie and John. They had that parent mindset.”
The United States presented a mixed reaction. Residing in San Diego, Knox lived in a predominately African-American community that supported the athletes.
The city as a whole thought differently, especially the older, non-confrontational generations at the time.
“San Diego is a military town and by nature, there were a lot of conservative mindsets,” Knox said. “There were people that were offended by the move and thought it was disrespectful.”
In Los Angeles, 18-year-old Timothy Hendrick, who’s now an SJSU Journalism and Mass Communications associate professor, watched the award ceremony with his parents.
Along the lines of Knox’s society, Hendrick felt his hometown had a similar response, however his view brought in a different insight.
“I think the attitude, both from myself and for a lot of people, was to not have done it in the Summer Olympics,” he said. “People thought that it shouldn’t be involved, but for me, I always thought that sports were used as a platform to say something. What they did was so powerful.”
More than 2,000 miles away in Chicago, the aftermath was almost identical.
Bob Rucker, another SJSU JMC associate professor, was in high school when the event unfolded. He remembers that year very vividly.
“From our perspective, we thought it was courageous in the respect of the black community,” Rucker said. “It was also very threatening because we knew the reaction would not be positive. When they got back, they were treated like horrible criminals as opposed to heroes that had just won Olympic medals.”
The salute wasn’t the only unforgettable moment that year. Rucker noted that there was consistent violence, anger or great public disappointment expressed in violent terms.
“1968 was one of the most memorable years of my life,” he continued. “We had two assassinations of Robert Kennedy and Martin Luther King Jr., a Democrat convention that imploded into police violence in the streets and then this incident. It was a very, very scary time.”
The protest affected many, especially Knox and Rucker, in more ways than one. To both, the powerful message stuck with them to this day and they believed that things were headed in the right direction.
“It has proven to be a blessing in my lifetime,” Rucker said. “Things did begin to change after that and they changed in a very profound, broad-based way for colored people of all ethnic backgrounds.”
“The salute changed things for the better long term,” Knox said. “The short term was difficult, but what they did certainly proved to be the right move in the long term. As Dr. Harry Edwards quoted: ‘You go from protest to progress,’ and I certainly see that happening.”
The meaning has led to influence others to take action, like former San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick.
As the world celebrates the 50th anniversary, the struggle is never ending, but the progress remains intact.
Follow Sara on Twitter @sarabielaa
