This week in Black history

Two Black sprinters, John Carlos and Tommie Smith, used their victory ceremony in the 200-meter dash as a vehicle for a Black Power demonstration on this day. At the time Smith said the symbolism of "the black right glove symbolized power, the left black glove symbolized unity, the scarf symbolized Blackness and the black socks symbolized our poverty." Smith, who was born June 5, 1944, in Clarksville, TX, and Carlos, 1 born in Harlem a year later, were both teammates at San Jose State University when they competed in the 1968 Summer Olympic Games in Mexico City. As the national anthem played, Smith, who had won the gold medal (in a then-world record 19.83 seconds) and Carlos who won the bronze-stood shoeless on the podium and bowed their heads as they raised a black-gloved fist. The Olympic committee suspended them for their silent protest, which both symbolized the injustices that plagued Black Americans and the turbulence of the '60s. Smith and Carlos both went on to finish their education and have spent their lives teaching and coaching. Last year San Jose State University immortalized Smith and Carlos with a 20-foot statue. Peter Norman, the Australian silver medalist who stood with his fellow Olympians and defiantly wore a button in support of them, recently died of a heart attack at the age of 64.

October 17, 1969--

Dr. Clifton R. Wharton Jr., economist, became the first Black elected president of Michigan State University (MSU), an all-White institution with 400,000 students, on this day. Wharton replaced Dr. John A. Hannah, who resigned to become director of the Agency for International Development. A native of Boston, Wharton earned bachelor's degree from Harvard University, and a master's from Johns Hopkins University. He was the first Black to earn a Ph.D. in economics from the University of Chicago in 1958. Prior to his MSU presidency, Wharton was vice president of the Agricultural Development Council (ADC) in New York. His other former directorships include the Ford Motor Company, Time-Warner, Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) and the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE). Wharton currently serves as co-chair of the Knight Commission.