Season 30, Day 19 - "Fist Things First"
It's Smith week, and today's quiz is inspired by Tommie Smith.
Tommie Smith
“Black America will understand what we did tonight.”
Tommie Smith was an American sprinter. He won gold in the 200-meter dash at the 1968 Summer Olympics in Mexico City. He’s best known for raising a black-gloved fist alongside American bronze medalist John Carlos atop the podium, one of the most famous political statements in the history of the Olympic Games. Smith also wore a black scarf for Black pride and black socks with no shoes to represent Black poverty in America. Widely called a “Black Power” salute, the action was described as a “human rights” salute in Smith’s autobiography Silent Gesture. In solidarity, Australian silver-medalist Peter Norman wore an Olympic Project for Human Rights badge with Smith and Carlos. The International Olympic Committee (IOC) banned Smith and Carlos from the Olympic Village, calling the act "a deliberate and violent breach of the fundamental principles of the Olympic spirit." A statue of Smith and Carlos titled Victory Salute can be found on the campus of San Jose State University, the two athletes’ alma mater.