Descriptive Feature SJSU Statue
A gloved hand on a fist raised towards the sky in defiance above a head bowed in shame. Two men stand on a pedestal in perpetuity in the middle of the San Jose State University campus. They are statues of Tommie Smith and John Carlos standing on the First and Third place stands respectively, much the same way that the men did over 60 years ago. They are made of steel and bronze and clad in blue fiberglass and ceramic tiles making up the outfits that they wore on that fateful day in 1968. They are barefoot, and each has one of their shoes, cast in bronze on the pedestal with them. They share the same downward tilt of their heads, but each has an opposite fist raised in the air. Smith, who stands on the first place pedestal holds a framed olive branch in his left hand against his hip. Carlos has his other arm tucked behind him, fingers closed against his palms. On their backs are their numbers in black tile on white, 307 and 259. They're both wearing their medals, t...