Council salutes Olympian 1968 track runners John Carlos and Tommie Smith http://www.nydailynews.com/ny_local/bronx/2009/04/24/2009-04-24_council_salute_for_4_olympians.html
BY Frank Lombardi DAILY NEWS CITY HALL BUREAU Friday, April 24th 2009 No one held up their fists at this ceremony. Scorned four decades ago for their famous Black Power salute at the 1968 Olympics, track greats John Carlos and Tommie Smith were applauded this week as they received City Council proclamations hailing their "achievements and their courageous contributions to the civil rights movement." The proclamations - and those for two other African-American track Olympians from the same era - were awarded at a poignant ceremony before Wednesday's Council session. The homage was sponsored and arranged by City Councilman Charles Barron (D-Brooklyn), a former Black Panther who is often embroiled in racially charged controversies. His proclamations bore eight sponsoring signatures, none from a white Council member. But Council Speaker Christine Quinn (D-Manhattan), who has occasionally clashed with Barron, took part in the ceremony. She praised the four Olympians as "inspirational Americans" who "helped move our country - not to where it should be yet - but to move our country forward." Carlos, 63, who was born and reared in Harlem, said it was great to "come to your city and be recognized for something . . . [it] took some time for people to realize that we weren't as bad as they might have thought." After he and Smith, 64, a Californian, won medals at the 1968 Olympics in Mexico City, they stood on the victory platform and bowed their heads during the flag raising and national anthem. Each also extended an arm and black-gloved fist in a Black Power salute meant to protest the racism of that era. Photos of that act can still stir emotions. In accepting his proclamation, Carlos said, "We would hope that you understand that we weren't concerned really for the black race as much as we were concerned for the human race." Also honored was Vincent Matthews, 61, of Queens, winner of a gold medal in the 1972 Olympics in Munich with the 4x400-meter relay team. He and another medal winner talked to each other during their victory ceremony, which was taken as another protest and led to their expulsion from the Games. The fourth proclamation was awarded posthumously to Larry James, who died in November at age 61 at his home in Galloway, N.J. He won a gold medal in 1968 with the 4x400-meter relay team. He did not take part in the protests that turned his teammates into track pariahs. James' widow, Cynthia, accepted the proclamation, saying, "If he was here, I believe he would say to you, 'Run the race to win.'" -- flomba...@nydailynews.com . --~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~ You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Sixties-L" group. To post to this group, send email to sixties-l@googlegroups.com To unsubscribe from this group, send email to sixties-l+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/sixties-l?hl=en -~----------~----~----~----~------~----~------~--~---
