Saturday, Sept. 8, after the conclusion of the East New York Restoration 5K run, awards and praises were bestowed on 1968 Olympic bronze medalist Dr. John Carlos. He is featured in one of the 20th century’s most iconic photos, the image of two African-Americans displaying the revolutionary Black Power salute on the world stage, which has remained etched in the memories of countless people both in the United States and abroad.
During the 200-meters medal ceremony in Mexico City, U.S. sprinters Tommie Smith, who captured the gold medal, and Carlos thrust their black leather-clad fists toward the sky in a courageous display of self-determination.
“Many of our young people here may know about Colin Kaepernick, but do you know the original, the source, where it started?” asked New York City Councilwoman Inez Barron to begin the awards presentation. “Some 50 years ago, there was Dr. John Carlos.”
Councilwoman Barron’s spouse, Assemblyman Charles Barron, followed with repeated chants of “Black Power!” before adding, “My brother John Carlos, I came up during the 1960s … and he inspired us.”
Councilwoman Barron then presented and read a proclamation honoring the native of Harlem.
“I’m listening to her read all these wonderful things off, and I’m looking at all these beautiful faces out here,” said Carlos, “and in my mind I’m trying to gather how am I going to express who we are as a people, and the only thing I can think about is the grass that you’re standing on.”
He then explained how the grass takes a beating from the sun, is stepped on, is not watered and gets cut down, “but every day that grass is growing, it keeps coming back.” He added, “That’s what we are, a people in this society that keeps coming back. We have endured so much.”
A number of community leaders were present for the ceremony, including Assemblywoman Annette Robinson; former Assemblyman Roger Green; Congressman Ed Townes; longtime social activist Walter Beach, a teammate of Jim Brown’s with Cleveland Browns; Candace Julienne, deputy program officer of Borough Hall; and Brooklyn Borough President Eric Adams, who presented Carlos with a citation.
Colette Pean, one of the organizers of the event, presented Carlos with a humanitarian award before noting, “We thought it was fitting that on our fifth anniversary we are able to honor the 50th anniversary of a very special moment in history.”
Carlos said, “Everyone has a role to play in society. I didn’t go to the Olympic Games to win a medal and brag about how great I was as an athlete, but God put it in my head and said, ‘If you don’t go to the Olympics’—I was set on boycotting them—I felt like if the Black soldiers stayed home during the [wars], America wouldn’t be … what it is today. God told me ‘Johnnie, you must go to the Olympics…’
He added, “It’s not about world records or gold medals. It’s about the platform that you have and what you’re going to do in that time. Everything I’ve done in my life is not in the moment, it’s in the movement.”