1983_02 Insight February 1983

              Inwlgh,
Edwards: Fighting harder for blacks
quite clear he was objecting to more
than just a rule, but rather to an entire
process he described in his speech as
a "systematic exploitation of athletes
that begins in grammar school."
"Til still be fighting for tbe rights
of black athletes 40 years from now,"
he said in an interview with Insight
after his lecture. "I am still utterly
as the playing of "The Star Spangled    plain  dumb."   But  then  Edwards         Edwards'early life was not quite Edwards stayed at FCC for a year monlyde .-"bed as "an angry ybatf
a •• i                                    pauses for a moment and reflects on so happy. Born Nov. 22, 1843 in tbe before recruiters lured him to San man."
his last statement. black ghetto of East St. Louis, 111., Ed- Jose State where be became a fine         "Tberestof the work! has beaaaaj
'People who are subjected to Ir- wards found Wmself inandoutof jail, student as well as an athlete. After more accepting of my demanoajafta
are going to react His father awl brother spent quite a graduation be turned down several of- black athletic rights. But Tm nojaf!
'hesays,speaking bit of time there as well and his fers to play professional football and ferent rmstiuiipeetalt>0*tte4lj8>
in the language of the sociologist that mother deserted the family when be basketball. Instead, be thought his tion," Edwards said. Which Is whjh
nets. was 8. He was not a good student but future could be found by using bis was In Fresno last Friday, to reflat*
Edwards is presently a profesor he was 6-foot-t3-inchea and 220 pounds mind, not his body. people that the Mack athlete la ataW
of Sociology  at  the  University  of wrien he grafted from high school. He went to Cornell and got his ing taken advantage of.             .;«.;
As tbe American flag rose, both
athletes bowed their heads and thrust
their black-gloved fists high in the air
In the "Black Power" symbol of protest A murmur filled the stands and
1968 was the year racial strife was
at its height It was also the year Dr.
Martin Luther King was assassins ted
and the same year Edwards first saw
tbe need for a demonstration to pro-
teat Inadequacies felt by black
athletes. So, be organized an Olympic
boycott to protest the presence of
racially segregated South Africa In
the'68 games.
Edwards did not exactly use a
mellow approach.
At one time during the boycott
threat be warned white Americans
that this country must change radically "or we will destroy it" As a
sociology teacher at San Jose State,
be had earlier threatened to
"physically interfere" with the play-
ing of one of San Jose State's football
games if certain racial injustf
■e not dealt with.
on their living room
But the act made people more
than uneasy. "This was a victory for
black people everywhere," Smith said
people started listening to Edwards
when be talked about an Olympic
The response of black athletes for
Edwards' cause was tremendous.
Several athletes from San Jose State,
including 230-yard world record
bolder Tommie Smith, national champion quarter-miler Lee Evans and top
100 and 280-yard sprinter John Carlos,
joined Edwards' group. Soon after,
tbe International Olympic Committee
For Smith and Carlos the result of
that victory was immediately felt
Both athletes were klcked-off the U.S.
team and out of the Olympic Village.
For Edwards, the man behind the entire scene, it meant the loss of his job
at San Jose State.
"I wasn't too upset about being
fired," Edwards said in retrospect "I
kind of expected it."
However, the blow stunned
Carlos. "It hurt everything that I was
involved with," Carlos said recently
in an Associated Press story. "It affected my marriage. It affected my
kids. 1 think It affected the loyalty and
emotions of people who called
themselves my friends. My marriage
broke up and later my wife passed
away."
Ironically, today Carlos Is working for tbe Los Angeles Olympic
Organizing Committee as a consultant, talking to groups in the L.A. area
about tbe upcoming games and tbe
sports involved.
Smith is currently the track coach
and athletic director at Santa Monica
Junior College.
After the Olympics and his firing
from San Jose State, Edwards went to
Cornell University to get his PhD and
eventually west in l»70 to teach at tbe
'The rest of the world has become more accepting of my demands for black athletic
rights. But Vm no different. I'm still upset
about the situation ... There exists an
athletics arms race in which there is no
finish line.'
—Harry Edwards
California, Berkeley. He says he's
content at tbe school, tbe same place
he "white-listed" as a racially unjust
In 1868.
"I'm always happy when I'm
teaching," be said. "I enjoy addressing different issues. I nope to be
teaching when I'm 80-years-old, even
if it means handing apples out on a
street corner to kids on their way to
He was considered an excellent
athlete.
In i960 with $700 loaned to him by
a black attorney, Edwards made his
way to Fresno City College where be
starred in football, basketball, and
track and field.
"I knew very few people while I
went to school at Fresno City
College," says Edwards. "I knew bow
to get to Ratcliffe Stadium and that
master's and then went back to San "There exists
Jose State in i960 as a sociology in- Race in which there is no finish line,"
structor. A year-and-a-half later Ed- be said in his speech.
wards launched bis Olympic boycott
"I think we accomplished a great After he finished his speech, Ed-
deal in tbe '68 Olympics," Edwards wards signed autographs and gave
recalls. "The fact that the issue is still advice to athletes. Finally he broke
alive and I'm still at the center of it free and started to walk out of the CU.
means that progress has been made." "Excuse me," he said, walking
Edwards  doesn't  think  he's away with his wife Sandra. "We've
changed  much from  tbe  highly got to beat the traffic and get home to
publicized days when be was com- fix tbe adds dinner."                    '  \
barred South Africa from tbe games.
It appeared Edwards had won.
But still he was not satisfied.
"Tbe point has always been to
dramatize racial injustices right here
at home," Edwards said during a
meeting with more than 40 black
potential Olympians in 1868. After a
discussion, tbe athletes voted
decisively in favor of keeping Edwards' Olympic protest movement
alive and the stage was set for a series
of events that shocked the world.
The most renowned of these
events occurred during the Olympic
to won the race, and
John Carlos, who finished third, were
stiffly situated on tbe victory stands
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According to Edwards, bis
priorities are much different than his
radical days at San Jose State. "My
family is tbe most important tiling to
aaarbow," be says. "It would be a
shame to win the battle and lose tbe
waV." -v
lie holds onto bis family with a
protective vigor. When asked if he
still keeps a gun in tbe bouse, be
responded, "I sure do. One would
have to be Insane not to have a gun in
this day and age. I would be a damn
fool and it would be irresponsible of
ma as bead of tbe household not to
protect my family."
But he does not consider himself a
violent person.
"Violence ia not only counterproductive,'' be said, "but it is just
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