#SuperPowerChange Heroes Gallery

Tommie Smith and John Carlos protested on behalf of all Black and oppressed people in the 1968 Mexico City Olympics. They were then removed from the Olympic Village and blackballed. We salute their courage.

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We honor the champ Muhammad Ali. An outspoken advocate for Black folks everywhere, he refused to be drafted into service during the Vietnam War due to his religious and moral objections and was stripped of his title for his stance and activism against the war and racism.

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We honor Paul Robeson: a College Football Hall of Famer who later went on to become a lawyer and successful actor. He also became a civil rights icon--notably meeting with President Harry Truman and demanded he take action against lynching and later founded the American Crusade Against Lynching.

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At the 1960 Rome Olympics she became the first American woman to win three gold medals in a single Olympiad. She was also a civil rights activist--in May 1963 Rudolph participated in a civil rights protest in her hometown of Clarksville in an effort to desegregate one of the city's restaurants. Within a short time the mayor announced that the city's public facilities, including its restaurants, would become fully integrated.

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Jackie was not only the first Major League Baseball player, but also the first black television analyst in MLB, and helped establish the Freedom National Bank, a Black-owned financial institution. He was also an integral part of the Civil Rights Movement. "I cannot salute the flag; I know that I am a Black man in a white world. In 1972, in 1947, at my birth in 1919, I know that I never had it made."

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While a Center on the Boston Celtics, he participated in the 1963 March on Washington and the Muhammad Ali Summit in Cleveland. He then went on to become the first Black head coach in the NBA and won ten titles.

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Wyomia Tyus pushed for racial equality and equal pay and professional opportunities for women athletes. She dedicated her gold medal in solidarity to oppressed people’s and the protests in the 1968 Olympics.

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"After twelve years in the major leagues, I do not feel I am a piece of property to be bought and sold irrespective of my wishes. I believe that any system which produces that result violates my basic rights as a citizen and is inconsistent with the laws of the United States and of the several States." -Curt Flood

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We honor Mahmoud Abdul Rauf—the incredible NBA player who was suspended from the league after refusing to stand during The Star Spangled Banner after acknowledging the United States flag as a symbol of oppression for marginalized communities. Mahmoud, we honor you for your sacrifice! Thank you!

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Larry McCullough and CJ Ingram-Lewis, two star high school football players who were kicked off their Crosby, Texas team for raising a fist and taking a knee. Larry and CJ, we salute you.

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Jemele Hill: a noted sports-journalist who's faced hateful attacks and silencing as she's used her platform to speak truth to power. We've got your back, Jemele!

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