An Olympic legacy

Forty-three years ago, John Carlos was a world-class runner who became a civil rights icon after using the black power salute on the awards podium at the 1968 Summer Olympics. Last night, he addressed about 100 students and faculty members in the Hoff Theater about his historic life and encouraged the group to be civil activists and to "go against the grain."

Carlos, with sports journalist Dave Zirin, wrote The John Carlos Story, a book that came out in July. Zirin said in a lengthy introduction that Carlos' story is still relevant because of racial inequalities that have not gone away since Carlos and gold-medalist Tommie Smith took the podium without shoes and held their gloved fists in the air.

Carlos said he hoped the book would inspire people to create change. He started the talk with the story of his birth — "I came in booty-first," he said. "It was almost like I was telling the world to kiss my butt."

He then told students to stand up against social injustice, even if it is an unpopular decision like his stance on the Olympic podium — Carlos said after the 1968 games, he received death threats and had trouble getting a job.

Senior family science major Ashley Cromartie said Carlos inspired her to fight social injustice with fellow students. "Band together and don't let major things just fly under the radar," she said. "It's important to step up."

Nyumburu Cultural Center Director Ronald Zeigler said Carlos set the precedent for professional and amateur athletes to use their position in the spotlight to spur social change.

"A lot of contemporary athletes, they may be great athletes, but oftentimes, they don't take on social commitments and address political inequalities," Zeigler said. "Dr. John Carlos did do that."

Alumna Shakeara Mingo agreed, and said she was excited to meet Carlos after the event, which was sponsored by the Nyumburu Black Male Initiative Program and Stamp Student Union.

"Athletes do have a voice, and their voice is stronger than anyone else's because they're in the public eye," she said.

Senior physiology and neurobiology and psychology major Chris Parker, one of several members of the university track team present, added that as athletes, it is easier to spur social change and lead by example.

Parker said he thought Carlos' main message to students was to create their own paths in life.

"It's your choice in life to say, ‘I can do better than this in this life,'" Carlos said.

Solomon Comissiong, assistant director of the Nyumburu Cultural Center, said he hopes Carlos inspired students to speak out against social injustices, including the racially- and sexually-charged abuses against University of Maryland workers that the Black Faculty and Staff Association outlined in a report delivered to university President Wallace Loh.

"You have to be that inconvenient hero and you have to speak out against these injustices," said Comissiong, who is also president of the Black Faculty and Staff Association. "[Students] can demand more from their university, and I think that's their responsibility to do so."

Comissiong said Carlos has impacted the lives of students in ways they may not realize.

"They've been impacted by his sacrifices, they just don't know how they've been impacted and, unfortunately, who he is," he said. "But tonight is a chance to change that."

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