Famed Olympic, Civil Rights Duo To Speak At UConn 'Human Rights Summit'

STORRS, CT — One of the most noted Olympic and civil rights duos in history will be coming to the University of Connecticut's Dodd Center for Human Rights this fall.

On Wednesday, Oct. 22, Tommie Smith and John Carlos are scheduled to visit UConn for the opening keynote conversation of a three-day summit "examining the global and domestic issues at play in the intersection of human rights and sports."

On Oct. 16, 1968, during the medal ceremony for the Olympic 200 meters in Mexico City, Smith and Carlos, who won gold and bronze, respectively, raised a black-gloved fists during the National Anthem in a "Black Power" salute," later clarified by Smith in his autobiography as a "civil rights." salute. Smith, Carlos, and Australian silver medalist Peter Norman all wore human-rights badges on their jackets.

Hosted by Dodd Human Rights Impact Programs, the 2025 Dodd Human Rights Summit – titled “Sport and Human Rights” – will bring together prominent professional and collegiate athletes, thought leaders, policymakers, activists, scholars, students, artists, and business leaders from around the world to examine the promise of sport as a safe, inclusive, and equitable environment regardless of color, race, religion, ethnicity, tribal affiliation, socioeconomic status, gender, or sexual orientation.

Dodd Center officials said this year’s summit capitalizes on the success of the first summit – held in 2023 and focused on the global assault on democracy – and, according to co-organizer and postdoctoral research associate Erica Laplante, is a natural fit for UConn, a university "known for its athletic accomplishments."

Their protest 57 years ago still resonates today, "because the journey toward racial equality in the United States has been a fitful one," said James Waller, the Christopher J. Dodd Chair in Human Rights Practice and director of Dodd Human Rights Impact Programs at UConn,

Waller added, "The protests by Smith and Carlos, "which transcended sports and later could be found in the echoes of the Black Lives Matter movement, remind us that the promotion and protection of human rights is a continual process that requires daily commitments by each of us."

The summit will close with a discussion of sport and human rights close to home featuring UConn athletes and coaches, including former men';s basketball star Doron Sheffer; UConn’s interim director of student activities and former track and field standout Trisha Hawthorne-Noble; UConn track and field legend and Oympian Bethany Hart Gerry; former UConn football quarterback Bryant Shirreffs; and Harrison Brooks Fitch Jr., the son of the late Harrison Fitch, UConn’s first Black basketball player.

Throughout the summit, attendees will also be invited to visit a new exhibit at The Dodd Center focusing on archival research and informational interviews to spotlight key moments related to sports and human rights in the University’s history – mirroring many themes from the summit’s sessions.

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For more information about, or to register to attend, the 2025 Human Rights Summit at The Dodd Center for Human Rights at UConn, visit summit.humanrights.uconn.edu.