On the morning of Oct. 16, 1968, AfricanAmerican athletes Tommie Smith and John Carlos each raised a black-gloved fist while the US national anthem, “The Star-Spangled Banner,” played during their medal ceremony at the Olympics in Mexico City. CBM photo by Antonio Ray Harvey was taken at their alma mater on Oct.6, 2016 on the campus of San Jose State University. Statue designed by artist Rigo 23 in 2005.

“I’m sure you can see why now our current inductees are receiving this honor. It just shows you what an incredible impact they had on the lives of everyone in their fight for civil rights,” he added.

After placing first and third in the 200-meter dash at the Olympic Games in Mexico City, sprinters Smith and Carlos ascended the medal stand to receive their respective gold and bronze metals with second-place silver medalist Peter Norman of Australia. During that historic moment, the men led a protest to draw attention to racial discrimination and other negative conditions affecting

Black people in America and across the globe.

Shoeless, donning black socks to represent Black poverty, and wearing beads to protest violence against African Americans, the athletes raised a black-gloved fist to show support for Black and oppressed people. Smith wore a black scarf around his neck to show Black pride.

The iconic image of their stance on the podium and their bold display of the Black power movement’s most recognizable symbol (the raised fist) was seen around the world. That moment changed the racial dynamics of international sports forever.

After their stand against racial injustice, Smith and Carlos never relinquished their medals even though the International Olympic Committee (IOC) prohibits protests at the games. They were immediately asked to leave the games in Mexico City.

Carlos said it was a widespread myth for decades that the IOC took his and Smith’s medals.

“They never took our medals. It was pure propaganda,” Carlos told California Black Media. “They were saying for years that they took our medals but what it really was a fear factor. They said it to try to instill fear into every Black athlete after 1968.”

Carlos, Smith, Edwards and Noel were associated with San Jose College’s track and field team in the mid-1960s. Facing discrimination as students on the campus, Edwards and Noel orchestrated rallies, protests and social justice events to attract African American student-athletes and fellow campus activists. Noel and Edwards started The United Black Students