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Friday's intriguing people
Tommie Smith
The Olympic athlete known for symbolizing Black Power on the podium at the 1968 games in Mexico City, Mexico, has placed his gold medal up for auction. Tommie Smith, now a 66-year-old resident of Georgia, has hired M.I.T. Memorabilia to handle the auction, which will close November 4, according to KTLA-Los Angeles. The asking price is $250,000.
Smith, a former San Jose State University sprinter, won the gold for the 200 meters in Mexico City. Teammate John Carlos also placed. During the U.S. national anthem, the two raised black-gloved fists and bowed their heads. Though they were kicked out of the Olympic Village at the time, they eventually earned international acclaim.
KTLA: Olympian in '68 black power salute to sell medal
Ingmar Guandique
Chandra Levy’s disappearance near Washington’s Rock Creek Park in 2001 was the hot story that summer. This Monday, Guandique, a Salvadorian immigrant charged with her murder, will stand trial.
The investigation initially focused on then-U.S. Rep. Gary Condit of California. Condit, in his mid-50s at the time, was having an affair with the 24-year-old.
A jogger found Levy’s body in Rock Creek Park in 2002. Guandique, already convicted and eventually imprisoned for two similar assaults in the park, became a main suspect.
Levy’s mother Susan will be permitted to attend the entire trial even though she is a potential witness.
The Washington Times: Levy murder trial revives passions, regrets
The Washington Post: Excerpt from the book 'Finding Chandra'
On Twitter
I have yet to see his Black Panther movement put on an event like the Olympics. Oh wait, could it be that it is because they lack the capacity to do something positive. Instead, they boast of rights and claims that are as unfounded as their ideals.
mkay, so this was the Black POWER Movement, not the Black Panthers. google it if you really care to know the difference.
Hey Princess reading is hard, huh?
Racist is defined as a person who views one race or racial trait superior and another inferior. I have never met a person who is not racist and never will.
So why is he auctioning it off? He need the money?
welfare ran out....da mn that new president and his welfare reform LOL !!! What a tool
Asking 250k .LOL,from that turd,it's not worth fiddy cent.
clueless...
Let's just hope it is glod plated instead of solid gold so he cannnot even sell it at $1400.oz on the market, after that stupid stunt.
Black power didn't pay the bills huh? Maybe instead of just running fast he should have gotten an education or a retirement fund... "Black Power" Ha.
He's got a masters – what u got?
Nothing like getting to post anonymously, is there?
The black glove fist was to draw attention to the oppression faced by black people in the states still fighting for civil rights at the time. "Black Power" was a name given to it to scare and enrage white folks... looks like its still working.
It happened 42 years ago and people are still outraged? There are lots of lives out there; find one.
Lots of racists on here today...
I am amazed at some of the comments on here. They obviously have no idea what and why he and John Carlos raised their fist at the Olympics. This wasn't about the Black Panthers or in anyway derogatory to another race, they did it to point out the struggles of Black people in America. They did it to express their freedom of speech to call out inequalities in our country. They were hailed internationally as heroes and to most back home.
At San Jose State they have put up a statue of the moment sand it is something that Spartan alums like myself are very proud of. Shame on those of you making just uninformed comments...sad.
FYI I am a white guy, so this isn't about race for me.
Well said
Not everybody is uneducated about this incident. We know all about Harry Edwards and what he was preaching up at San Jose. Yes, it was a turbulent as civil rights emerged and matured. Not everybody knew what to do with their newly found freedom.
The place for statements was in the press interview area, where you can make just about any statement you want and have a chance to explain yourself.
Raising a fist as they sped across the finish line would be one thing.
Doing it while the flag was being raised and the national anthem playing was the *worst* place they could have done it. Edwards and the plotters underestimated the backlash, and to some extent the penalty has been a lifetime of minor jobs. That image just doesn't go away.
Instead of working "within" our country's systems to effect change (the Martin Luther King model, albeit with a bit of civil disobedience thrown in- but IN CONTEXT), these people choose to smash against the country with a hammer. In other words, the same way preached by Malcom X and the Black Panthers.
That approach to affect change doesn't go over well in the United States. It's the same as members of that church protesting at military funerals across the country. They become social pariahs.
Oh, so the selfish guy that took it upon himself to disrespect the olympics and all other races decides to disrespect the olympics even more by trying to sel his medal. You are what we call worthless. You took advantage of your olympic glory to disrespect the world, now you're throwing more disrespect back in the face of the olympics and the world. The olympics are about unity, the world coming together as one. And YOU promoted individualism for your race by your selfish act. YOU-–ARE-–WORTHLESS.
Well put. I agree completely. It's sad how the media celebrates these two men who tried to embarass their country on a world stage. What these guys did was a disgrace to this country; they should have had their medals revoked a long time ago. Worthless is an appropriate description.
Tommie & John raised an awareness to the injustice of our culture at the time. As a white Olympic wannabe (went to trials in 2 sports, yippee – who cares) I was agast at their actions. As I grew and hopefully matured I became more agast of Avery Brundage and his actions and salute Tommie and John's actions to stand up against and what I hope society today see's as a very dark time in America
You give hope.. I read these messages thinking it gives perspective of people in the world. Right now it is only showing hatred..Lot of folks have moved from being opinionated to being crazy. Thanks for writing this.. Gets us to feel that there are still sane people browsing the internet..
Black power is cool and all that but it doesn't pay the bills. Its tough being a rebel when you can't afford to eat at macdonals.
Famous Gloves:
Muhammad Ali
Tommie Smith
Michael Jackson
O.J. Simpson
It's been a while hasn't it? Time for the next glove to come along.
For those who won't take time to learn their history, Smith later became a track coach at Oberlin College in Ohio, where he also taught sociology and until recently was a faculty member at Santa Monica College in Santa Monica, California.
For his life-long commitment to athletics, education, and human rights following his silent gesture of protest at the '68 Olympics in Mexico City, Smith received the Courage of Conscience Award from The Peace Abbey in Sherborn, Massachusetts. In 2005, a statue showing Smith and Carlos on the medal stand was constructed by political artist Rigo 23 and dedicated on the campus of San Jose State University. On July 16, 2008, John Carlos and Tommie Smith accepted the Arthur Ashe Award for Courage for their salute at the 2008 ESPY Awards held at NOKIA Theatre L.A. LIVE in Los Angeles, California.