San Jose State will be constructing a statue honoring former Olympians Tommie Smith and John Carlos:
Certainly, the sight lines improve when you’re talking about a 23-foot tall statue, because that’s what is coming here  a statue depicting San Jose State student-athletes Tommie Smith and John Carlos in their raised-fist protest against racial inequality as they stood on the medal stand after the 200 meters at the 1968 Mexico City Olympics.
The gesture instantly sparked controversy  Smith and Carlos were banned from the Olympic village  but there are no hints of unrest here, only school pride, and a desire to honor two pioneers of social activism on the campus they walked nearly four decades ago.
There was a groundbreaking ceremony here recently to mark the spot the huge statue will occupy. A fund-raising effort by the school’s Associated Students group  a nonprofit student governing body  has raised $225,000 of the $300,000 needed to pay for the installation.
It is expected to be completed Oct. 16, the 37th anniversary of the event that raised not only fists, but social consciousness.
“A hundred years from now, people will look at that statue and say ‘What was that about?’ and someone will say ‘Demonstrating at the Olympics,’ ” said Harry Edwards, an activist, sociologist and lecturer at what was then San Jose State College. “That will just open the door to the discussion (more…)
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Call me an alarmist here, but I always get a little nervous when I see predominately white institutions honoring certain highlights in our history. For example, you will never see a predominately white college erecting a statue for Malcolm X simply because there was no misunderstanding of his message. In other words, it would be very difficult for some multiculturalist to pimp his message for issues not concerning the black community.
Smith and Carlos were protesting against the overt racism that existed in America at the time–THAT’S IT!! What I see coming down the road is that just like the legacy of such Civil Rights greats as Martin Luther King Jr., their legacy will be used for other causes like gay rights, animal rights, elder care rights, etc. As I mentioned on this site some time ago, even groups like NAMBLA (North American Man/Boy Love Association) have used themes from the civil rights movement to promote their twisted cause.
Here is the sentence in the excerpt above that somewhat confirms my feelings:
“…and a desire to honor two pioneers of social activism…”
Ultimately, yes this was a facet of social activism, but make sure the true message in this protest does not get lost with political hijackers.
