Tommie Smith
Two USA athletes took spots on the podium for the 1968 200m dash: Tommie Smith for gold and John Carlos for bronze. The men used their position to silently gesture their support for the Civil Rights movement by using the Black Power gesture while wearing black gloves. The gesture itself made waves across the world and Smith and Carlos will never be forgotten because of it. Later in life, Smith went to coach track at Oberlin College and taught sociology. He then went to teach at Santa Monica College in 2007 and has been teaching ever since.