EUR This N That | Urban Black News Blog

You may have seen the historic picture of Tommie Smith and John Carlos standing on a platform at the Olympics in Mexico in 1968 with their black gloved fists held high and barefoot in solidarity with the black power movement in the U.S.  The shoeless gesture of the two standing there in black socks were to represent the poverty back home in the black community.  The scarf Smith wore was a symbol of black pride. Of course, the gesture landed both of them in hot water and it had long been rumored that Smith was stripped of his medal. Well nothing can be further from the truth as Tommie Smith prepares to auction off his gold medal.

This isn’t the first time he’s tried either.  He’s tried to auction it before, but in 1999 he withdrew from the auction.  The history behind the gold medal and all the controversy that circulated around it makes his choice to auction it a mystery.  The same as last time.  Smith refused to give a response to the media.  Read more here from the man who co-wrote with Smith his autobiography “Silent Gesture.”