John Carlos
Encyclopedia
John Wesley Carlos (born June 5, 1945 in Harlem, New York) is a Cuban American
Cuban American
A Cuban American is a United States citizen who traces his or her "national origin" to Cuba. Cuban Americans are also considered native born Americans with Cuban parents or Cuban-born persons who were raised and educated in US...

 former track and field
Track and field
Track and field is a sport comprising various competitive athletic contests based around the activities of running, jumping and throwing. The name of the sport derives from the venue for the competitions: a stadium which features an oval running track surrounding a grassy area...

 athlete and professional football player. He was the bronze-medal winner in the 200 meters at the 1968 Summer Olympics
1968 Summer Olympics
The 1968 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XIX Olympiad, were an international multi-sport event held in Mexico City, Mexico in October 1968. The 1968 Games were the first Olympic Games hosted by a developing country, and the first Games hosted by a Spanish-speaking country...

 and his black power salute
1968 Olympics Black Power salute
The 1968 Olympics Black Power salute involved the African American athletes Tommie Smith and John Carlos giving the Black power salute at the Olympic Stadium in Mexico City...

 on the podium with Tommie Smith
Tommie Smith
Tommie Smith is an African American former track & field athlete and wide receiver in the American Football League. At the 1968 Summer Olympics, Smith won the 200-meter dash finals in 19.83 seconds – the first time the 20 second barrier was broken...

 caused much political controversy. He went on to equal the world record in the 100 yard dash and beat the 200 meters world record (although the latter achievement was never ratified). After his track career, he enjoyed brief stints in the National Football League
National Football League
The National Football League is the highest level of professional American football in the United States, and is considered the top professional American football league in the world. It was formed by eleven teams in 1920 as the American Professional Football Association, with the league changing...

 and Canadian Football League
Canadian Football League
The Canadian Football League or CFL is a professional sports league located in Canada. The CFL is the highest level of competition in Canadian football, a form of gridiron football closely related to American football....

 but retired due to injury.

He became involved with the United States Olympic Committee
United States Olympic Committee
The United States Olympic Committee is a non-profit organization that serves as the National Olympic Committee and National Paralympic Committee for the United States and coordinates the relationship between the United States Anti-Doping Agency and the World Anti-Doping Agency and various...

 and helped to organize the 1984 Summer Olympics
1984 Summer Olympics
The 1984 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XXIII Olympiad, was an international multi-sport event held in Los Angeles, California, United States in 1984...

. Following this he became a track coach at Palm Springs High School
Palm Springs High School
Palm Springs High School is a public high school for grades 9 through 12 located in Palm Springs, California as part of the Palm Springs Unified School District...

. He was inducted into the USA Track & Field Hall of Fame in 2003.

He is the author, with sportswriter Dave Zirin
Dave Zirin
Dave Zirin is an American political sportswriter who is currently the sports editor for The Nation, a weekly published liberal magazine dedicated to politics and culture.- Career :...

, of The John Carlos Story: The Sports Moment That Changed the World, published in 2011 by Haymarket Books
Haymarket Books
Haymarket Books is a non-profit left-wing book publisher and distributor. It is published by the Center for Economic Research and Social Change...

.

Early life

Born in Harlem, New York, of Cuban
Cuba
The Republic of Cuba is an island nation in the Caribbean. The nation of Cuba consists of the main island of Cuba, the Isla de la Juventud, and several archipelagos. Havana is the largest city in Cuba and the country's capital. Santiago de Cuba is the second largest city...

 descent, John Carlos was a gifted high school athlete and outstanding student who went on to study at East Texas State University on a full track-and-field scholarship. His victories in the 100 and 200-meter dash and as a member of the 4x400-meter relay helped lead ETSU to the 1967 Lone Star Conference
Lone Star Conference
The Lone Star Conference is a college athletic conference affiliated with the National Collegiate Athletic Association Division II. Member institutions are located in the southwestern United States, with schools in Texas, Oklahoma and New Mexico...

 Championship. After his first year, Carlos matriculated to San Jose State University
San José State University
San Jose State University is a public university located in San Jose, California, United States...

 where he was trained by future National Track & Field Hall of Fame coach, Lloyd (Bud) Winter
Lloyd (Bud) Winter
Lloyd C. Winter, better known as "Bud" was the USATF Hall of Fame Track Coach. He was regarded as one of the greatest sprint coaches in the world. Over a 39-year coaching career at the then San Jose State College, he produced 102 All-Americans, 27 who went on to become Olympians...

.

Career

Carlos became a founding member of the Olympic Project for Human Rights
Olympic Project for Human Rights
The Olympic Project for Human Rights or OPHR was an organisation established by sociologist Harry Edwards and others, including noted Olympians Tommie Smith and John Carlos, in October 1967. The aim of the organization was to protest racial segregation in the United States and elsewhere , and...

 (OPHR), initially created to organize a boycott
Boycott
A boycott is an act of voluntarily abstaining from using, buying, or dealing with a person, organization, or country as an expression of protest, usually for political reasons...

 of the 1968 Summer Olympics
1968 Summer Olympics
The 1968 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XIX Olympiad, were an international multi-sport event held in Mexico City, Mexico in October 1968. The 1968 Games were the first Olympic Games hosted by a developing country, and the first Games hosted by a Spanish-speaking country...

 in Mexico City
Mexico City
Mexico City is the Federal District , capital of Mexico and seat of the federal powers of the Mexican Union. It is a federal entity within Mexico which is not part of any one of the 31 Mexican states but belongs to the federation as a whole...

. At the 1968 Olympic Trials
United States Olympic Trials (track and field)
The United States Olympic Trials for the sport of Track and Field is the quadrennial meet to select the United States representatives at the Olympic Games. Since 1992, the meet has also served as the USA Outdoor Track and Field Championships. Because of the depth of competition in some events,...

, Carlos stunned the track world when he won the 200-meter dash in 19.92 seconds, beating world-record holder Tommie Smith
Tommie Smith
Tommie Smith is an African American former track & field athlete and wide receiver in the American Football League. At the 1968 Summer Olympics, Smith won the 200-meter dash finals in 19.83 seconds – the first time the 20 second barrier was broken...

 and surpassing his record by 0.3 seconds. Though the record was never ratified because the spike formation on Carlos' shoes ("brush spikes") was not accepted at the time, the race reinforced his status as a world-class sprinter.

Following his third-place finish behind fellow American
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 Smith and Australian Peter Norman
Peter Norman
Peter George Norman was an Australian track athlete best known for winning the silver medal in the 200 metres at the 1968 Summer Olympics in Mexico City. His time of 20.06 seconds still stands as the Australian 200m record. He was a five-time Australian 200m champion...

 in the 200 at the Mexico Olympics, Carlos and Smith made headlines around the world by raising their black-gloved fists
1968 Olympics Black Power salute
The 1968 Olympics Black Power salute involved the African American athletes Tommie Smith and John Carlos giving the Black power salute at the Olympic Stadium in Mexico City...

 at the medal award ceremony. Both athletes wore black socks and no shoes on the podium to represent African-American poverty in the United States
Poverty in the United States
Poverty is defined as the state of one who lacks a usual or socially acceptable amount of money or material possessions. According to the U.S. Census Bureau data released Tuesday September 13th, 2011, the nation's poverty rate rose to 15.1% in 2010, up from 14.3% in 2009 and to its highest level...

. In support, Peter Norman, the silver medalist who was a white athlete from Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...

, participated in the protest by wearing an OPHR badge.

IOC president Avery Brundage
Avery Brundage
Avery Brundage was an American amateur athlete, sports official, art collector, and philanthropist. Brundage competed in the 1912 Olympics and was the US national all-around athlete in 1914, 1916 and 1918...

 deemed a political statement unfit for the apolitical, international forum the Olympic Games was supposed to be. In an immediate response to their actions, he ordered Smith and Carlos suspended from the U.S. team and banned from the Olympic Village. Many supporters, however, praised the men for their bravery. The men's gesture had lingering effects for all three athletes, the most serious of which were death threats against Carlos, Smith, and their families. Although it has been reported that Carlos and Smith were stripped of their medals, Carlos has indicated this is not true and his medal is with his mother.

Carlos had his greatest year in track and field in 1969, equaling the world 100-yard record of 9.1, winning the AAU 220-yard run, and leading San Jose State to its first NCAA
National Collegiate Athletic Association
The National Collegiate Athletic Association is a semi-voluntary association of 1,281 institutions, conferences, organizations and individuals that organizes the athletic programs of many colleges and universities in the United States...

 championship with victories in the 100 and 220 and as a member of the 4x110-yard relay. He was also the gold medalist at 200 meters at the 1967 Pan American Games
Pan American Games
The Pan-American or Pan American Games are a major event in the Americas featuring summer and formerly winter sports, in which thousands of athletes participate in a variety of competitions. The Pan American Games are the second largest multi-sport event after the Summer Olympics...

 in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...

 and set indoor world bests in the 60-yard dash (5.9) and 220-yard dash (20.2).

Following his track career, Carlos tried professional football, a 15th round selection in the 1970 NFL Draft
1970 NFL Draft
The 1970 National Football League Draft was held on January 27–28, 1970.-Player selections:-Round one:-Round two:-Round three:-Round four:-Round five:-Round six:-Round seven:-Round eight:-Round nine:-Round ten:...

, but a knee injury curtailed his one-year stint with the Philadelphia Eagles
Philadelphia Eagles
The Philadelphia Eagles are a professional American football team based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. They are members of the East Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League...

 of the National Football League
National Football League
The National Football League is the highest level of professional American football in the United States, and is considered the top professional American football league in the world. It was formed by eleven teams in 1920 as the American Professional Football Association, with the league changing...

. He then went on to the Canadian Football League
Canadian Football League
The Canadian Football League or CFL is a professional sports league located in Canada. The CFL is the highest level of competition in Canadian football, a form of gridiron football closely related to American football....

 where he played one season each for the Montreal Alouettes
Montreal Alouettes
The Montreal Alouettes are a Canadian Football League team based in Montreal, Quebec.The current franchise named the Alouettes moved to Montreal from Baltimore, Maryland, in 1996 where they had been known as the Baltimore Stallions...

 and the Toronto Argonauts
Toronto Argonauts
The Toronto Argonauts are a professional Canadian football team competing in the East Division of the Canadian Football League. The Toronto, Ontario based team was founded in 1873 and is one of the oldest existing professional sports teams in North America, after the Chicago Cubs and the Atlanta...

. Following his retirement from football, Carlos worked for Puma
PUMA AG
Puma SE, officially branded as PUMA, is a major German multinational company that produces high-end athletic shoes, lifestyle footwear and other sportswear. Formed in 1924 as Gebrüder Dassler Schuhfabrik by Adolf and Rudolf Dassler, relationships between the two brothers deteriorated until the two...

, the United States Olympic Committee
United States Olympic Committee
The United States Olympic Committee is a non-profit organization that serves as the National Olympic Committee and National Paralympic Committee for the United States and coordinates the relationship between the United States Anti-Doping Agency and the World Anti-Doping Agency and various...

, the Organising Committee of the 1984 Summer Olympics
1984 Summer Olympics
The 1984 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XXIII Olympiad, was an international multi-sport event held in Los Angeles, California, United States in 1984...

 and the City of Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...

.

In 1985, Carlos became a counselor and in-school suspension supervisor, as well as the track and field coach, at Palm Springs High School
Palm Springs High School
Palm Springs High School is a public high school for grades 9 through 12 located in Palm Springs, California as part of the Palm Springs Unified School District...

 in California. In 2003, he was elected to the National Track & Field Hall of Fame.

In 2005, a statue showing Carlos and Smith on the medal stand was constructed by political artist Rigo 23
Rigo 23
Rigo 23 , born Ricardo Gouveia, is a Portuguese muralist, painter, and political artist residing in San Francisco, California...

 and dedicated on the campus of San Jose State University
San José State University
San Jose State University is a public university located in San Jose, California, United States...

.

In 2007, John Carlos was honored at the Trumpet Awards in Las Vegas, Nevada.

Carlos is the godfather of Chicago White Sox
Chicago White Sox
The Chicago White Sox are a Major League Baseball team located in Chicago, Illinois.The White Sox play in the American League's Central Division. Since , the White Sox have played in U.S. Cellular Field, which was originally called New Comiskey Park and nicknamed The Cell by local fans...

 General Manager Kenny Williams. Carlos and Williams' father ran track together in college.

In April 2008, Carlos was a torch-bearer for the Human Rights Torch, http://www.humanrightstorch.org/news/, which ran in parallel to the 2008 Summer Olympics torch relay
2008 Summer Olympics torch relay
The 2008 Summer Olympics torch relay was run from March 24 until August 8, 2008, prior to the 2008 Summer Olympics, with the theme of "one world, one dream". Plans for the relay were announced on April 26, 2007, in Beijing, China...

 and focusing attention on China's human rights record
Human Rights in China
Human Rights in China is a New York-based international, Chinese, non-governmental organization with a mission to promote international human rights and advance the institutional protection of these rights in the People's Republic of China....

.

On July 16, 2008, John Carlos and Tommie Smith accepted the Arthur Ashe Award for Courage for their salute at the 2008 ESPY Awards
ESPY Awards
An ESPY Award is an accolade presented by the American cable television network ESPN to recognize individual and team athletic achievement and other sports-related performance during the calendar year preceding a given annual ceremony. The first ESPYs were awarded in 1993...

 held at NOKIA Theatre L.A. LIVE in Los Angeles, California.

On October 10, 2011, Carlos spoke and raised his fist at Occupy Wall Street
Occupy Wall Street
Occupy Wall Street is an ongoing series of demonstrations initiated by the Canadian activist group Adbusters which began September 17, 2011 in Zuccotti Park, located in New York City's Wall Street financial district...

. He said "Today I am here for you. Why? Because I am you. We’re here forty-three years later because there’s a fight still to be won. This day is not for us but for our children to come.” The following day he appeared on MSNBC
MSNBC
MSNBC is a cable news channel based in the United States available in the US, Germany , South Africa, the Middle East and Canada...

 and on Current TV
Current TV
Current TV, or Current, is a media company led by former U.S. Vice President Al Gore and businessman Joel Hyatt. Comcast owns a ten percent stake of Current's parent company, Current Media LLC....

's Countdown with Keith Olbermann
Countdown with Keith Olbermann
Countdown with Keith Olbermann is an hour-long weeknight news and political commentary program that airs on Current TV, where it began airing on June 20, 2011. The program was broadcast on MSNBC from March 31, 2003, to January 21, 2011. On MSNBC, the show presented five selected news stories of...

.

Cultural references

The best-selling 1974 album Livet är en fest by Swedish
Sweden
Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....

 progg
Progg
Progg, a contraction of the Swedish word for "progressive music" was a left-wing and anti-commercial musical movement in Sweden that had its roots in the late 1960s, and its golden age in the 1970s. It should not be confused with the English expression progressive music or progressive rock. Progg...

 band Nationalteatern
Nationalteatern
Nationalteatern is a Swedish progg rock group from the 1970s that featured leftist political lyrics. It was originally a traveling theater ensemble with many members, most notably Ulf Dageby, Anders Melander, Totta Näslund, Nikke Ström, Hans Mosesson and Pale Olofsson.-History:Initially formed as a...

includes a song titled "Mr. John Carlos", which depicts the events at the medal award ceremony and the subsequent hardships of Carlos.

External links



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