Olympic gold medalist Tommie Smith, who famously raised his fist at the 1968 Summer Olympics to protest racism, highlights this year's MLK Week at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln.
Smith will deliver a keynote address during the MLK Commemorative Celebration at 6 p.m. on Jan. 25 in the Nebraska Union's Centennial Room on UNL's City Campus.
Smith took gold in the 200-meter sprint at the 1968 Summer Olympics in Mexico, but he's perhaps better known for what happened after the race.
As the national anthem played during the medal ceremony, Smith and bronze medalist John Carlos raised their gloved fists to protest injustice against Black people in the U.S. The symbolic gesture thrust Smith into the spotlight as a human rights advocate.
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“We wanted to offer a speaker who has reflected the ideals of human rights, activism and its connection to a platform that allows for visibility and collective impact," Nkenge Friday, senior assistant vice chancellor for strategic initiatives at UNL and chair of the MLK Week committee, said in a news release.
Those interested are asked to register by Jan. 20 at .
UNL's annual MLK Week will honor the legacy of Martin Luther King Jr. with a number of events Jan. 23-28.
On Jan. 28, Cheryl Brown Henderson will deliver a keynote address at the annual MLK Banquet at 6 p.m. at the student union on UNL's East Campus.
Henderson is the daughter of Oliver Brown, the namesake of the landmark U.S. Supreme Court case Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka, which established racial segregation in schools as unconstitutional.
Tommie Smith (center) and John Carlos raise their fists during the playing of national anthem after Smith received the gold and Carlos the bronze for the 200 meter run at the Summer Olympic Games in Mexico City in 1968.Â