John Carlos and Dave Zirin: Not Just a Game and The John Carlos Story

Film Screening and Book Signing

John Carlos and Dave Zirin: Not Just a Game and The John Carlos Story

Monday, October 3rd at 6pm ~ Johnson Center Cinema 

Seen around the world, John Carlos and Tommie Smith’s Black Power salute on the 1968 Olympic podium sparked controversy and career fallout. Yet their show of defiance remains one of themost iconic images of Olympic history and the Black Power movement. 

This moment is at the center of the film Not Just a Game. Based on Dave Zirin's bestselling book The People's History of Sports in the United States, the documentary argues that American sports have long been at the center of some of the major political debates and struggles of our time. In a fascinating tour of the good, the bad, and the ugly of American sports culture, Zirin first traces how American sports have glamorized militarism, racism, sexism, and homophobia, then excavates a largely forgotten history of rebel athletes who stood up to power and fought for social justice beyond the field of play. The result is as deeply moving as it is exhilarating: nothing less than an alternative history of political struggle in the United States as seen through the games its people have played -- including Dr. John Carlos. 

After the screening, Dave Zirin and John Carlos will discuss Not Just a Game and their new co-authored book, The John Carlos Story: The Sports Moment That Changed the World