Descriptive Feature: The Statues of Tommie Smith and John Carlos

Word count: 251

Standing at 20 feet tall, the statues of Tommie Smith and John Carlos represent peaceful protest in an age of oppression and violence.

The structure is supported by a cement podium made to resemble the actual podium at the 1968 Mexico City Olympic Games in which Smith took first place and Carlos took third.

Both statues were built by a San Francisco artist named Rigo, who used a combination of fiberglass stretched over steel to construct the life-like representations of Smith and Carlos.

Blue hexagon-shaped mosaic tiles cover the surface of the statues to create the track suits worn by both athletes at the time of their protest.

Along the sides of their pants are red and white mosaic tiles that create a white and red stripe.

Green, red and yellow tiles create necklaces around the necks of both men and a white badge with the caption, "Olympic Project for Human Rights" rests on their jackets.

The black gloves worn by both men represent civil rights, which was the sole focus of their protest, not black pride.

By each of their feet lays a black Puma athletic shoe to represent poverty and oppression.

By taking their shoes off they were able to show their black socks, which also represented civil rights at the time.

Both shoes are hollow and are made of steel.

Smith's number, 307, is placed on his back in navy tiles with a white background and Carlos' number, 259, has also been placed on his back.