Silent Gesture: The Autobiography of Tommie Smith (Sporting)
Tommie Smith raised his black-gloved right fist after receiving the 200-meter gold medal at the 1968 Mexico City Olympics. The picture of that moment is one of the most enduring sports images of the twentieth century. Nearly 40 years later, he details what the gesture symbolized for him and reveals what his life has been since. We learn that, in Smith's mind, the raised glove was not a Black Power salute. We also learn that he was terrified he'd be shot while on the podium or afterward, a fear that left his life with a lingering undercurrent of paranoia. Along with reflections on the significance of the raised hand, Smith and coauthor Steele deliver a straightforward autobiography: growing up poor, early athletic success, college career at San Jose State, and decades as an educator and coach. There is an undercurrent of bitterness here, too, as Smith recounts numerous severed relationships, both professional and personal, in which he sees himself as the aggrieved party. Still, Smith is an important figure in the history of American sports, and deserves a forum to tell his story his way.Wes LukowskyCopyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved