The John Carlos Story: The Sports Moment That Changed the World

I remember being deeply offended when John Carlos raise his gloved hand on the medal stand at the 1968 Olympics. It was easy for me to decide that he was just being disrespectful and arrogant, but I was missing one thing: the context behind that action. Carlos provides a very thoughtful and honest story in which he reveals how that action on the medal stand, even though he admits it was spontaneous, was also the result of the life he was born into, as well as the life he chose for himself. Carlos' story begins during the Harlem Renaissance of his childhood, where his concern for others began when most are worrying only about themselves. In fact, it was his ability to outrun law enforcement officials after stealing food and everyday goods off trains that provided early indications of the speed that would take him to that medal stand. Dyslexia made school difficult for him, but Carlos managed a full university scholarship because he could outrun everyone. Instead of solving his problems, the scholarship heightened his awareness of the injustices his predecessors had suffered during the days of slavery. Ultimately, it forced him to come to terms with the fact that slavery still existed in the way black scholarship athletes were treated, which rekindled his earlier concern for others. When he met and was influenced by Dr. Martin Luther Kind, Jr. and Malcolm X, he learned that others shared his concern also had ideas about how to affect change. The rest of Carlos' memoir reveals his role in the plan to boycott the 1968 Olympics, why it ultimately failed, and how the USA Track Team responded, and how Carlos' life was haunted by his decision to raise his fist. Now that I understand the reasons behind that action, I not only appreciate but applaud his action. There are two powerful lessons in this book: (1) A picture can never reveal the complete, true story behind the moment it captures, and (2) we haven't made as much progress in civil rights as we fool ourselves into believing. An attitude-changing and thought-provoking story and many levels for many people -- not just sports fans.

The detailed history of the struggles for Racial Justice are very important for white Americans to learn. I had contact with the Quakers (the Religious Society of Friends) but had only read a few books on on racism. I had no idea how very deep and awful it was when I was growing up in south eastern Pennsylvania in the 50s and 60's. Later, my late wife and I adopted a Hispanic baby from El Salvador, and an African-American. But I'm still learning how truly awful racism in America was historically. To me, books like this are exceedingly important. I also read the 50th Anniversary Edition of Harry Edwards book The Revolt of the Black Athlete. I heard him speak when he was a graduate student at Cornell when it was shut down by Black students in 1968 or 1969. He was the best speaker in the ensuing mass meeting at Cornell! He was on a par with Bayard Rustin and Martin Luther King Jr. whom I each heard speak in 1963 or 1964 and 1965 or 1966--you can't rank these moral giants!

The most fascinating part of John Carlos' life isn't really the suffering that his demonstration of courage caused him, (and our shame that his act caused him so much suffering) but that now most Americans think of the Black Power salute in Mexico City with approval. His courage made for a significant event in American history, not just American sports history, on the level of Cassius Clay throwing his medals into the river after 1960 and Muhammed Ali lighting the Olympic Flame at the Atlantic Olympics 36 years later. His story of growing up in Harlem, his difficult college athletic career in east Texas, the Mexico City event and the debates that proceeded it, and the memory of the passions of the 1960s make this book a good read for anyone interested in sports history or American racial and Civil Rights history. I'm glad to live in the same world as men like John Carlos.

An engaging read about one of the men behind an iconic moment in Olympic history. This autobiography charts the path to that medal stand in Mexico City in 1968 and the turbulent years that followed. It is particularly pertinent in our current troubled times.

I liked the childhood stories in Harlem. Was surprised that there was nothing about serious training.All talent?Legacy of Smith and Carlos in Mexico 68 is painfully up to date. It is also painful how long and deep the aftermath was for both.Great and brave gesture from young men which will last time. Carlos story is different from Simith's buttogether they are good read.

I enjoyed the book minus the few typos that I discovered while reading it. I was 7 years old and remember the gesture all 3 men made on the stand for oppressed African Americans. I was too young to really grasp the whole situation, reading this book clears it all up. It's sad how people have fought for our rights throughout the years and we as a race still treat each other like trash. Anyway I digress, the book was great I didn't want to put it down. The only real problem that I have and had with the book is that no one should compare anything to cancer unless you've actually had it. I've had 3 family members pass of cancer and I have a sister who is breast cancer survivor I get real peeved when I read something like that, I don't care who the writer may be!

I have seen this iconic picture many times over the years but did not know the whole story. Mr. Carlos tells his story in such a way that is so simple yet conveys the complex issue of race in the USA. Just like Jack Johnson, Paul Robeson, Muhammad Ali and other Black men that defied the status quo during their peak years as respective giants in their fields he was persecuted for taking his stand. He endured all the ridicule, lost wages and has a very telling story on what the US did not want to share on the international stage in 1968. Well worth everyone's reading time.

Loved the book. It was an assignment from History 1301 professor. I didn’t think I was going to like it because it was related to sports, but it really has little to do with sports. It is more about persistence, love, anger, and social justice.

This is a lively and insightful account of the life of John Carlos, one half of the iconic duo who undertook the iconic Olympic medal protest from 1968.For students of the specific protest, but also for the sport, and of the civil rights movement, it is a valuable read. I already knew the context of the protest, and am well versed in the sport, so perhaps that helps make it easier but I felt the style is very accessible: the pace of the prose gives you a sense that it is almost being spoken. In fact. I enjoyed it so much that I read it through in one sitting, in one day, and have dipped back into it since. There are great nuggets of detail, and specific perspectives, to be gained from this account, and also from the personal words of Carlos and of co-author Dave Zirin in different sections at the end.It is not quite a warts and all life story, but it does acknowledge his failings and hints at darker episodes in some of the choices he has made. This is perhaps then, not the story of the whole man, but of the athlete and what he was able to represent.In summary, to understand why sport can be so powerful in particular settings, and also how that power can be disrupted, then this is an essential read.

Really enjoyed having the background to one of the most iconic images of the 20th century filled in.Probably lacks a little depth around the early '68 pre Olympics for me, but then I am a geek for that level of detail.I feel I know the circumstances that led to the 'protest' a great deal better.And also recognise how much society has and hasn't changed, in almost 50 years.John Carlos and Tommy Smith endured a great deal for taking a stand in favour of many things we consider to be normal today.

Could not dislike anything in the book about a man who created non violent history in one of the greatest moments in sport and human rights. This man, along with Peter Norman and Tommie Smith told the world that it is not acceptable to denigrate any human being.

It was really refreshing to read the story behind the fist. I remember the Olympics in Mexico and I remember the stance Carlos and Smith made that day. I understood why they did it, but to read what happened after and how both their lives and their families were affected made me more proud of them, because when you do right it is a hard and lonely road to travel. Thank God things have turned around. Really a great book for every generation to read.

Il libro è l'autobiografia del grande campione di atletica leggera. Non mi aspettavo niente di speciale, ma il contenuto ha risposto alle aspettative.