Black Power Salute

During the 1968 Olympics ceremony in Mexico City, Tommie Smith and John Carlos, two African-American athletes, both raised a black-gloved fist when the US national anthem was playing. The raised fist represents unity/solidarity with oppressed peoples. 

After the protest, both athletes were greatly ostracized by the US sports industry. Both Smith and Carlos received threats that included comments about their families. 

Sociologist Harry Edwards urged black athletes to boycott their games. Similar protests were Jackie Robinson not standing and singing the anthem, and Colin Kaepernick protesting police brutality and racism in modern-day America. 

Personally, I respect the stand that these athletes took because I recognize that they put their entire careers and future on the line to advocate for important issues that affect their communities. I feel as if more athletes have followed their example such as women athletes standing up for better pay.

Source: https://www.aljazeera.com/indepth/features/smith-carlos-black-power-salute-vilified-praised-181016130640280.html

Inside OJ's Mind

In 1995, OJ Simpson was being charged with first degree murder of his ex-wife, Nicole Brown Simpson, and her friend, Ronald Goldman. 

OJ was an excellent football player. He received a Junior College scholarship and later enrolled at USC. He was named All-American twice and was awarded the Heisman trophy. OJ set multiple records in the NFL and is still remembered as one of the most amazing running backs in football history. 

OJ was strong in the face of adversity. He overcame the racial barriers that had been put in place by past societies. He was respected and loved by so many people. However, in Nicole’s diary, she described how OJ became violent and had issues with anger. 

If OJ was loved by so many, what pushed him to be so aggressive with Nicole? Neurobiologists believe that OJ has chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE), which is a degenerative brain disease that is linked to suffering repeated head trauma. Throughout his career as a football player, the head trauma he could have suffered can be closely linked to CTE being present in OJ’s brain. Symptoms of CTE include behavioral and mood problems, as well as, problems with thought processing. Many people speculate that OJ was not in the right state of mind due to CTE, however, CTE is only diagnosable once the individual is dead. 

What do you all think? Do you think OJ is suffering from CTE? If other defendants are being tried for crimes of this severity, do you think the jury should take into consideration diseases such as CTE that may be present?

O.J. Simpson Car Chase