RICKAROO - The New Mexico Sports Place

On Oct. 16, 1968 in Mexico City, American track athletes Tommie Smith and John Carlos scandalized a nation and the world by bowing their heads and raising gloved fists during the playing of the U.S. national anthem on the Olympic medal podium. No doubt, as the 50th anniversary approaches, a great deal will be said and written about that momentous day. But why wait? That moment is as relevant today as it was then — or will be 66 days from now. I remember that day so well, how it shocked and angered me to see two American athletes disrespect their country in front of the world. Slowly, though, it dawned on me: as a 20-year-old white kid from Albuquerque's Northeast Heights who had never experienced racial discrimination, I wasn’t SUPPOSED  to like it. All Smith and Carlos wanted from people like me was that we’d at least think about it. Eventually, gradually,  I did. And I consider that day a seminal moment in the evolution of my thoughts and beliefs regarding race in our ...