Tommie Smith began life quietly, born to Richard and Dora Smith on June 6, 1944, in Clarksville, Texas, the seventh of 12 children.  Tommie Smith survived a life-threatening bout of pneumonia as an infant, which allowed him to carry out the work that God intended for him.  Today, his historic achievements make him a nationally and internationally distinguished figure in African American history.  He is the only man in the history of track and field to hold eleven world records simultaneously. 

Tommie Smith received his Bachelor of Arts degree from San Jose State University in Social Science, with double minors in Military Science and Physical Education.  Tommie received his Masters Degree in Sociology from Goddard Cambridge in Boston, Mass.  As a college student, Tommie amazingly tied or broke a total of 13 world records in track. 

During the historic 19^th Olympiad held in Mexico City, in the summer of 1968, Tommie Smith broke the world and Olympic records with a time of 19.83 seconds and became the 200-meter Olympic champion.  As the Star Spangled Banner echoed in the wind, at the Mexico City Summer Olympic Games, Tommie Smith and John Carlos stood on the victory podium, draped with their Olympic medals, each raised a clinched fist, covered in a black leather glove in a historic stand for black power, liberation and solidarity.  This courageous, unexpected worldwide event propelled Tommie Simith into the spotlight as a human rights spokesman, activist, and symbol of African American pride at home and abroad.  Cheered by some, jeered by other, and ignored by many more, Tommie Smith made a commitment to dedicate his life, even at great personal risk, to champion the cause of oppressed people.  The story of the “silent gesture” is captured for all time in the 1999 HBO TV documentary, “Fist of Freedom”.

Tommie Smith’s courageous leadership, talent, and activisim have earned him well-deserved acclaim and athletic and humanitarian awards.  Some highlights have been: featured in periocicals including Sports Illustrated, Time, Newsweek, and Ebony, 1978 inductee into the National Track & Field Hall of Fame, coaching staff of the 1995 World Indoor Championship team in Barcelona, Spain, 1996 inductee into the California Black Sports Hall of Fame, 1999 Sportsman of the Millennium Award, May 1999 inductee in the Bay Area Hall of Fame, November 1999 inductee in the San Jose State University Sports Hall of Fame, 2000-2001 Commendation, Recognition and Proclamation Awards from the County of Los Angeles and the State of Texas, 2004 dedication of the Tommie Smith gymnasium in Saint Ouen, France, May 2005 Honorary Degree of Humane Letters from San Jose State University.

Since the games of the XIX Olympiad, Tommie has enjoyed a distinguished career as a coach, educator, speaker, athletic director and activist.