Tommie Smith

About Tommie Smith

Tommie Smith (born June 5, 1944) is an African American former track & field athlete and wide receiver in the American Football League. Smith was the winner of the 200-meter dash at the 1968 Summer Olympics.

While a student at San Jose State, Smith won the national collegiate 220-yard (201.17 m) title in 1967 before adding the AAU furlong (201.17m) crown as well. He repeated as AAU 200 m champion in 1968 and made the Olympic team. In the 1968 Olympic Games at Mexico City, he won the gold medal for the 200 m in a world record time 19.83 s. He and a teammate, John Carlos, who earned the bronze medal, gave a Black Power salute while receiving their medals. Silver medalist Peter Norman, a white Australian, donned a human rights badge on the podium in support of their protest. (See 1968 Olympics Black Power salute.)

Some people (particularly IOC president Avery Brundage) felt that a political statement had no place in the international forum of the Olympic Games. In an immediate response to their actions, Smith and Carlos were suspended from the U.S. team by Brundage and banned from the Olympic Village. Those who opposed the protest said the actions disgraced all Americans. Supporters, on the other hand, praised the men for their bravery. The men's gesture had lingering effects for both Smith and Carlos, the most serious of which were death threats against them and their families.