Cal State East Bay Hosts Olympians and Social Activists John Carlos and Wyomia Tyus
In this iconic image from the 1968 Olympic Games, John Carlos (right) and Tommie Smith raised a gloved fist in silent protest against racial injustice. (AP photo)
- February 2, 2016
Cal State East Bay’s Center for Sport & Social Justice (CSSJ) will host Olympians John Carlos and Wyomia Tyus for a special event Feb. 10 in the University Theatre. Dave Zirin, an award-winning sports journalist for “The Nation,” will moderate a question-and-answer session with the athletes who famously protested against racial injustice in America during the 1968 Mexico City Games.
“John Carlos and Tommie Smith’s selfless act against racial injustice atop the medal stand in 1968 is one of the more iconic images surrounding racial politics of the period,” said Rita Liberti, CSSJ’s director. “At great personal risk, both athletes stood on the medal stand with raised, gloved fists in the air, in silent protest against racial injustice. They used sport and its increasingly powerful place in society as a site of political resistance in challenging the racial status quo.”
Carlos and Smith won bronze and gold medals, respectively, in the 200-meter dash in the 1968 Olympics. But the sprinters from San Jose State University gained international fame at the podium after raising black fists to support human rights.
Gold medalist Wyomia Tyus, Carlos’s teammate on the 1968 Olympic team, dedicated her medals to Carlos and Smith. Tyus won two medals for the 100 meters and relay.
Carlos, Tyus and Zirin will be on the Hayward campus to speak to students before the formal events. A private reception and fundraiser will be held at 4:30 p.m., followed by the public Q&A session from 7-9 p.m. in the University Theatre. Seating is limited.
“Part of the CSSJ's mission is to highlight the ways in which sport can be used as a vehicle for positive social change,” Liberti said. “Far from mere amusement, sport is integrally linked to broader social relations in society. Nearly 50 years ago, John Carlos and Wyomia Tyus understood what few people thought or acknowledged — that sport and politics were fused and that the Olympics provided a potentially powerful platform to assist in righting the wrongs of racial injustice.”
“In recent years, journalist Dave Zirin has deepened and advanced public discourse on sport and politics,” Liberti continued. “His thought-provoking analysis about any number of issues that swirl around sport and culture prompts us to reconsider the place of sport in our world.”
For further information and questions about this event or The Center for Sport & Social Justice contact Rita Liberti, director and professor of kinesiology at Cal State East Bay, Rita.liberti@csueastbay.edu or visit the