At the Pettit Center in Milwaukee, where numerous winter Olympians have trained, it was the summer Olympians of track and field who were there to support the Milwaukee fellows.

They included three-time gold medal winner Jackie Joer Kurtie, one of the most decorated and revered Olympic athletes of all time.

I am one that believe that if you do the work, the money will come.

But you cannot put self before anything.

And two United States medal winners from the 1968 Summer Olympics in Mexico City, Tommy Smith and John Carlos, both known for their black power salute during the medal ceremony.

We had the privilege of sitting down with Smith and Carlos who explained how their desire for equity and justice for black people manifested on that Olympic podium.

Smith, who was once known as the world's fastest man, found that educating younger generations could go beyond sharing words.

It became a reality to me that I am somebody.

Now, how am I going to help those behind me who had the same feeling that I did about the educational process in big families and not having and not being able to talk or communicate.

So, that's fine.

mind bringing up was very elementary in my thought process.

But you've got to start before you can continue.

And once you continue, you have to continue, you are continuing to help those behind you who had the same problem as you did.

Cuz my problem I I can ascertain that it was like a lot of problem that young black men like me had back in the day.

But I had nobody out front for me to look up to and uh classify myself as somebody.

For Carlos, he says it came in a vision years before taking the podium.

The thing was so deep.

I was traumatized and I went to dinner that night.

About maybe six hours later, I go to dinner.

My father said, "What's the matter, Johnny?"

I said, "Daddy, I was in a movie."

He said, "You was in a movie.

What happened?"

Cuz he said, "I'm traumatized."

I explained to him what happened.

The old man brought me into his rib cage.

He said, "Son, nobody's going to bother you.

My job is to love you, feed you, house you, protect you, teach you, get a good education.

Nobody's going to bother you."

And he reached over my head and said to my mother said, "By it look like God's got something special for this kid.

We're going to have to wait and see."

I didn't think about that vision after the first five years after vision.

I think about it no more until I got to that victory stand.

And if you look at my eyes, you can see I made a connection with something in my mind.

It was that vision.

They shared how their actions cost them endorsements, money, even association with teammates and friends.

And a lot of folks was afraid to be around me because they might think that I might say the wrong thing that some black folks are going to dislike me because I am using the word white.

A lot of people don't want to use the word white.

After Mexico City, my life almost stopped because people were afraid to approach me because they they felt and I was told this and I felt this that if they associated with me, people will view them as as negative as they viewed me.

So, I stayed by myself a lot and went back to school just to what else I was going to do.

Uh I lost the house that I was in.

Uh, and so me and the wife had to kind of almost be on the streets, hold the 11 world record and being a gold medalist, almost on the street just to make it and our young son just to make it.

First, it took me actually two years to figure out that it wasn't they was walking away because they didn't have love for me or, you know, I had stinky on my collar or what have you.

They walking away for fair reprisal.

They saw what was being thrust upon Dr.

Smith and I. So they didn't want that to happen to them and their families.

So they walked.

I can't knock them for wanting to protect their right.

But yet and still I figured in time if you endure they going to be able to see the benefits of what we did.

Yeah.

You have to take some pain to make gain.

Carlos gave a deep perspective on how race relations compare nearly 60 years later.

In 1968 we put a picture up.

Dr.

Smith and I put a picture up and the picture illustrated racism, bias, prejudice, segregation, the whole nine yards.

Red lining, lack of education in institutions that we couldn't get in.

All of this wrapped up in one.

So we put up a cameo to say this is what we up against.

But people didn't want to take the move.

But see now at that time it was like is this real or is this memorex?

modern day, the same thing is happening, but it's in your face and you can touch it.

You can feel it.

It's real.

When you see 4,800 people lose their jobs, when you see black mayors or governors across the state being put down based on the color of their skin, when you see them trying to change the zones in the various uh states like what they doing in Texas, you know, it's a lot of things taking place right now and it's in people's face.

And I tell white folks, you you got good hearts.

I'm not saying all white people had anything to do with, you know, with the prejudice that's going on or all the uh slavery that took place back in time.

I said, but at the same time, as a human being, you can't be there and say, I'm a white guy and I stand by you.

Standing by me is fine, but today you have to be more than just standing by me.

You have to open up your mouth and turn the volume and tell your brother say, "Hey man, what you're doing is wrong.

This thing called racism and bias and prejudice is wrong."

Each of the track and field legends had a message to the athletes of today who have access to social media and many more lucrative opportunities.

Think of the young people.

That's why I do what I do.

I chose teaching to do that.

Use different platforms from grammar school which I started teaching up to the four-year college to reach back and help young folks help the people.

The big ring, the big watches, the great car, big cars, that's selfishness and that's okay.

But you got to share that with the kids.

A seed would not grow if it's not watered.

So we must continue to nurture our young people.

And even though as they try to go in their own way, we must bring them back and be a reminder of the constant is God.

and that you can do whatever you want to do, but when it's all said and done, if you're not true to your own self, then you'll be hard for you to be true to trying to have a real platform that's just superficial and temporarily versus a platform again that's longevity and lasts forever.

They have to realize, man, is more important than them just having a name or reputation because you can run the football or dribble the basketball or run track fast.

realize that you as public when I say public you as pronounced to the public as the president of the United States is.

The president is not known no more around the world than LeBron James is.

Same thing back at the time when Joe Lewis was boxing the president Eisenhower.

He wasn't no more pronounced than Joe Lewis was at the time.

Look at the man in the mirror.

Get in touch with yourself.

I know who I am but the question is do you know who you are?

And once you find out who you are, then you can move forward and do great things in your life.