The John Carlos Story

Download or read book The John Carlos Story written by Dave Zirin and published by Haymarket Books. This book was released on 2011-10-04 with total page 159 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: “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

Download or read book The John Carlos Story written by John Carlos and published by Haymarket Books. This book was released on 2011 with total page 218 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: John Carlos, the man behind the most iconic moment of the Black Power movement, tells his story.

Download or read book Silent Gesture written by Tommie Smith and published by Temple University Press. This book was released on 2008-08-13 with total page 288 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The story of the most famous protest in sports history, written by one of the men who staged it.

Download or read book What's My Name, Fool? written by Dave Zirin and published by ReadHowYouWant.com. This book was released on 2011-02 with total page 398 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: 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.

Download or read book The Peter Norman Story written by Andrew Webster and published by Macmillan Publishers Aus.. This book was released on 2018-10-09 with total page 253 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: 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.

Download or read book The Heritage written by Howard Bryant and published by Beacon Press. This book was released on 2018-05-08 with total page 290 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Following in the footsteps of Robeson, Ali, Robinson and others, today’s Black athletes re-engage with social issues and the meaning of American patriotism Named a best book of 2018 by Library Journal It used to be that politics and sports were as separate from one another as church and state. The ballfield was an escape from the world’s worst problems, top athletes were treated like heroes, and cheering for the home team was as easy and innocent as hot dogs and beer. “No news on the sports page” was a governing principle in newsrooms. That was then. Today, sports arenas have been transformed into staging grounds for American patriotism and the hero worship of law enforcement. Teams wear camouflage jerseys to honor those who serve; police officers throw out first pitches; soldiers surprise their families with homecomings at halftime. Sports and politics are decidedly entwined. But as journalist Howard Bryant reveals, this has always been more complicated for black athletes, who from the start, were committing a political act simply by being on the field. In fact, among all black employees in twentieth-century America, perhaps no other group had more outsized influence and power than ballplayers. The immense social responsibilities that came with the role is part of the black athletic heritage. It is a heritage built by the influence of the superstardom and radical politics of Paul Robeson, Jackie Robinson, Muhammad Ali, Tommie Smith, and John Carlos through the 1960s; undermined by apolitical, corporate-friendly “transcenders of race,” O. J. Simpson, Michael Jordan, and Tiger Woods in the following decades; and reclaimed today by the likes of LeBron James, Colin Kaepernick, and Carmelo Anthony. The Heritage is the story of the rise, fall, and fervent return of the athlete-activist. Through deep research and interviews with some of sports’ best-known stars—including Kaepernick, David Ortiz, Charles Barkley, and Chris Webber—as well as members of law enforcement and the military, Bryant details the collision of post-9/11 sports in America and the politically engaged post-Ferguson black athlete.

Download or read book Brazil's Dance with the Devil written by Dave Zirin and published by Haymarket Books. This book was released on 2014-05-05 with total page 298 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: One of the Boston Globe’s Best Sports Books of the Year: “Incisive, heartbreaking, important and even funny” (Jeremy Schaap, New York Times–bestselling author of Cinderella Man). The people of Brazil celebrated when it was announced that they were hosting the World Cup—the world’s most-viewed athletic tournament—in 2014 and the 2016 Summer Olympics. But as the events were approaching, ordinary Brazilians were holding the country’s biggest protest marches in decades. Sports journalist Dave Zirin traveled to Brazil to find out why. In a rollicking read that travels from the favelas of Rio de Janeiro to the fabled Maracanã Stadium to the halls of power in Washington, DC, Zirin examines Brazilians’ objections to the corruption of the games they love; the toll such events take on impoverished citizens; and how taking to the streets opened up an international conversation on the culture, economics, and politics of sports. “Millions will enjoy the World Cup and Olympics, but Zirin justly reminds readers of the real human costs beyond the spectacle.” —Kirkus Reviews