Postcard from San Jose

Isn’t it ironic that during this year’s Olympics I went to visit my Alma Mater, San Jose State University, and came across this sculpture. It shows, of course, that famous moment at the 1968 Olympics when Tommy Smith and John Carlos raised their black-gloved fists in the Black Power salute on the medal stand while the National Anthem was playing. That brought back a few memories.

You see, both Smith and Carlos were at San Jose State the same time as me. In fact, I knew Tommy Smith (only slightly) as he lived in the same dorm as me. I have no memory of ever meeting Carlos.  At the time, both athletes took a lot of heat for what they did. I remember being disturbed when it happened…I was torn because they were San Jose State students and I was rooting hard for their success…but was not happy that they chose the Olympic games for their protest. I am OK with it now, not that it matters.

But, time heals all wounds and both athletes have been praised in these later years for their act of courage.  In 2008, they jointly accepted the Arthur Ashe Award for Courage for their salute, at the 2008 ESPY Awards. By the way, in 1966, Smith set the world record for 200 meter sprint…a record that stood for 44 years until 2010.

This sculpture, done by political artist Rigo 23, dates back to 2005. The third athlete on the stand with them that day, Peter Norman, is not part of the sculpture. The space where he was is empty. The building in the background is the School of Journalism where I spend countless hours learning the journalism craft. Talk about memories…

It was fun to visit the old campus again and see all the changes. Of course, there are several buildings from my time there still in existence, but I estimate that 70% of the campus has changed for the better since I left.

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To see more of my work, both in photography and digital painting, please visit my website, www.corkrum.com

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