The John Carlos Story

“A powerful and poignant memoir” of an African American athlete who defied the establishment—decades before Colin Kaepernick (Cornel West, New York Times–bestselling author of Race Matters). An NAACP Image Award Nominee for Outstanding Literary Work—Biography/Autobiography John Carlos was a bronze medalist in the two hundred-meter race at the 1968 Olympics, but he is remembered for more than his athletic accomplishments. His and his fellow medalist’s Tommie Smith’s Black Power salutes on the podium sparked controversy and career fallout—yet their show of defiance, seen around the world, remains one of the most iconic images of both Olympic history and African American history. This is the remarkable story of John Carlos’s experience as a young man in Harlem, a track and field athlete, and lifelong activist. “This book is fascinating for more than just the sports history, as the text talks about Carlos’ connection to Dr. King, basketball player Kareem Abdul Jabbar, Olympic runner Ralph Boston, baseball legend Jackie Robinson and boxer George Foreman. Carlos even comments on topics in today’s news including First Lady Michelle Obama, the value of Twitter, the antics of athletes like Chad Ochocinco and Terrell Owens, and his views on an award he received at ESPN’s 2008 ESPYs.” —Chicago Tribune “John Carlos is an American hero . . . I couldn’t put this book down.” —Michael Moore, filmmaker and New York Times–bestselling author of Here Comes Trouble

John Carlos, the man behind the most iconic moment of the Black Power movement, tells his story.

The story of the most famous protest in sports history, written by one of the men who staged it.

In Whats My Name, Fool? sports writer Dave Zirin shows how sports express the worst - and at times the most creative, exciting, and political - features of our society. Zirins sharp and insightful commentary on the personalities, politics, and history of American sports is unlike any sports writing being done today. Zirin explores how NBA brawls highlight tensions beyond the arena, how the bold stances taken by sports unions can chart a path for the entire labor movement, and the unexplored political stirrings of a new generation of athletes who are no longer content to just ''play one game at a time.'' Whats My Name, Fool? draws on original interviews with former heavyweight champ George Foreman, Olympic athlete John Carlos, NBA player and anti-death penalty activist Etan Thomas, antiwar womens college hoopster Toni Smith, Olympic Project for Human Rights leader Lee Evans and many others. It also unearths a history of athletes ranging from Jackie Robinson to Muhammad Ali to Billie Jean King, who charted a new course through their athletic ability and their outspoken views.

The 1968 US men's track and field team featured such legends as Tommie Smith, Bob Beamon, Al Oerter, and Dick Fosbury and they won 12 gold medals and set six world records at the Mexico City Games, one of the most dominant performances in Olympic history. The Black Power protest of Tommie Smith and John Carlos on the victory stand in Mexico City remains a most enduring images of the games. A 400-meter track carved out of the Eldorado National Forest above Lake Tahoe played a role in molding that juggernaut. To acclimate US athletes for the elevation of Mexico City, the training camp and final Olympic selection was held at Echo Summit near the California-Nevada border. On a track in which hundreds of trees were left on the infield to minimize environmental impact, four world records fell—more than have been set at any US meet since. But the Vietnam War was raging, Martin Luther King Jr. and Robert Kennedy were assassinated, and a group of athletes from San Jose State had been threatening to boycott the Mexico City Games to protest racial injustice. Informed by dozens of interviews and the deep knowledge of sports journalist and track enthusiast Bob Burns, this is the story of how in one of the most divisive years in American history, a California mountaintop provided an incomparable group of Americans shelter from the storm.

Who is Peter Norman? He's the greatest Australian hero you don't know. Peter Norman is the 'forgotten man' in one of the most powerful and influential photos of all time. Peter is in the photo because he won Australia a silver medal at the 1968 Mexico Olympics after running the 200 metres in 20.06 seconds. In 2018, 50 years on, it is still the Australian record. But Peter Norman is a hero to millions today not for the race or the record, but for what he did next. Hearing of US medallists John Carlos and Tommie Smith's plans to protest against inequality on the dais, Peter pinned an Olympic Project for Human Rights badge on his green and gold tracksuit and said: 'I'll stand with you.' That act of solidarity cost Peter Norman everything. All three men were cast into exile, their lives sent spiralling. But it secured a unique friendship - and a legend that, in its 50th anniversary, is more powerful than ever. This is the extraordinary story of the man behind the photo and a moment that changed the world. It's a strange odyssey of a working-class, Salvation Army-raised boy from Melbourne who became a global icon for equality and courage, yet who remained an enigma to even those closest to him. It's a story about taking a stand and inspiring people everywhere to stand with you. The story of a unique hero who has gone unsung for too long. The Peter Norman Story.

The Revolt of the Black Athlete hit sport and society like an Ali combination. This Fiftieth Anniversary edition of Harry Edwards's classic of activist scholarship arrives even as a new generation engages with the issues he explored. Edwards's new introduction and afterword revisit the revolts by athletes like Muhammad Ali, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Tommie Smith, and John Carlos. At the same time, he engages with the struggles of a present still rife with racism, double-standards, and economic injustice. Again relating the rebellion of black athletes to a larger spirit of revolt among black citizens, Edwards moves his story forward to our era of protests, boycotts, and the dramatic politicization of athletes by Black Lives Matter. Incisive yet ultimately hopeful, The Revolt of the Black Athlete is the still-essential study of the conflicts at the interface of sport, race, and society.

Rowe uses recent work on the oppressive treatment of gays, women and children in his analysis of Henry James, arguing that James mounts a critique of bourgeois values and lack of historical consciousness.