Posted on 11/01/2017 6:05:20 PM PDT by EdnaMode
Former San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick has joined a film project about sprinter Tommie Smith’s famous “Black Power salute” at the 1968 Summer Olympic Games.
The man who started controversial national anthem protests that have rocked the NFL since 2016 has joined the production team of “With Drawn Arms: A Collaborative Project for Social Justice,” a Kickstarter project to “bring back the relevance and awareness of Tommie’s gesture and turn it into a wider conversation about equality and human rights.”
The news comes in conjunction with claims by Mr. Kaepernick’s lawyer that the activist will probably have a professional football contract “within the next 10 days.”
L.A.-based artist Glenn Kaino confirmed the collaboration Wednesday to The Hollywood Reporter after initially playing coy with the magazine in early October.
Mr. Smith won the 200-meter race at the 1968 Summer Olympic Games in Mexico City. He, along with bronze medalist John Carlos, raised a black-gloved fist during the national anthem to raise awareness of human rights issues.
“During the award ceremony, Tommie walked to the platform wearing only black socks on his feet — the first sign of a symbolic protest that would become even more powerful in the following minutes,” the film’s Kickstarter page reads. “He accepted the gold medal, and then, as the customary playing of the national anthem began, he raised his fist to give the Black Power salute and then, bowed his head.”
Mr. Kaino will receive a co-directing credit with Afshin Shahidi. “It’s a complicated story because [Tommie Smith] has not been treated well by this country, and so it’s important for us to understand that so when we see people who are standing up for themselves like Colin Kaepernick now that we understand their sacrifice and treat them appropriately,” Mr. Kaino said, THR reported.
The film will be co-produced by singer John Legend and his Get Lifted Film Co. partners Mike Jackson and Ty Stiklorius, “Grey’s Anatomy” star Jesse Williams and Smith’s wife Delores,” THR reported.
The film will be co-produced by singer John Legend and his Get Lifted Film Co. partners Mike Jackson and Ty Stiklorius, “Grey’s Anatomy” star Jesse Williams and Smith’s wife Delores,” THR reported.
Sorry, I meant to excerpt this (Washington Times article).
>>During the award ceremony, Tommie walked to the platform wearing only black socks on his feet
Thus earning the name Tommie “Johnson” Smith.
not sure how a mulatto fits here.
Half white, white birth mother, white adoptive parents taking care of him and all he can think about is being black.
Half white QB kneels after loosing starting job. Doesn't sound like a winning story line and people are fed up with the race bating for profit productions.
Yeah and everyone in ‘68 thought the same thing then as we do now: why the hell did he think it was OK for him to hijack that event for his own political statement?
Every athlete there had something similar to say but they didn’t screw with the Olympics.
His little act was followed by Black September murdering 11 Israeli’s 4 years later in Munich and I always thought the two things were connected: he was the first to breach the decorum.
POS clown, and Kaepernick is an even bigger punk sitting on a pile of cash moaning about his awful, terrible life of luxury.
The good guy in the ‘68 Olympics was George Foreman grabbing a small American flag and presenting it to all four sides of the ring. He said, “I wanted everybody to know where I was from”. He was a real gold medal guy.
Documentary. That’s Hollywood speak for propaganda.
After his black sperm donor walked out.
Thought his agent said he would be signed back to an NFL team in ten days. Bet he thought he had that 49ers job locked up.
He had a job with the 49ers and he quit and thought he would be picked up by a better team, even though HE SUCKS!!!
He is and will be as relevant to history as the sprinter is, nobody cares now what he did and nobody will care what caperDIK did either.
He has all the free time he wants, he just signed a book deal and he could be traveling the country leading protests and really ‘making a difference” if he wanted to, but he’s a lazy jackA$$ who whines about being ‘oppressed’ inside his multimillion dollar house.
That's why those two black panther saluters were stripped of their medals.
IDK if it was in 1968.
How many German athletes would have been able to keep their medals in 1936 if they gave Nazi salutes?
I'm certain there would be no debate and no documentary about "bravery" and them being stripped and ostracized "unfairly".
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