Reading and Book Signing with Dr. R.A. Ptahsen-Shabazz

Power From the Podium: The Story of Black Olympians Tommie Smith and John Carlos, is a wonderfully written and richly illustrated story of two Olympic icons whose silent Black Power protest at the 1968 Olympics in Mexico reverberated worldwide. From the awards podium during the playing of the American National Anthem, Tommie and John, heads bowed with their black-gloved fists raised in the Black Power symbol, signified one of the most powerful protests in sports history that called attention to Black social justice and racial inequality. This powerful message about race in America transformed world consciousness and changed their lives forever.

Remembered as courageous trailblazers, today, Smith and Carlos are celebrated as pioneers of athletic activism and much like Muhammed Ali’s 1967 Vietnam protest have inspired generations of athletes to use their platforms to herald social and political causes and inequities including Colin Kaepernick's kneeling protest at the NFL.

In Power From the Podium: The Story of Black Olympians Tommie Smith and John Carlos, Dr. Ptahsen-Shabazz captures their brave spirits and greatness as never before.

About the Author:

R.A. Ptahsen-Shabazz, Ph.D., is a Black / Africana Studies educator and a professor of Africana Studies at Nassau Community College in Long Island, NY. He attended Howard University and the University of South Carolina, where he graduated with a BA in Broadcast Journalism and Mass Communications. He later earned his Master of Arts and PhD in African American Studies at Temple University. Born and raised between the Bronx and Westchester, Ptahsen-Shabazz is of Jamaican maternal and Afri-can American paternal heritage. Dr. Shabazz has committed his life to researching and teaching about the often-forgotten contributions that Black/African people have made to human culture and progress; on such topics, he has spoken internationally. Dr. Shabazz’s premier book was Black to the Roots: Reggae’s Rise, Downpression and Reascension .Power From the Podium is his second book.

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