With Drawn Arms
Champion sprinter Tommie Smith raised his gloved fist as a gesture of Black unity after winning the gold medal in the 200m sprint event at the 1968 Olympics awards ceremony in Mexico, creating an iconic image of the 20th century while turning his life upside down.
Champion sprinter Tommie Smith raised his gloved fist as a gesture of Black unity after winning the gold medal in the 200m sprint event at the 1968 Olympics awards ceremony in Mexico, creating an iconic image of the 20th century while turning his life upside down. Smith speaks movingly about what led to his gesture—and the struggles he has faced since—in this documentary that also spotlights his multiyear collaboration with Los Angeles-based conceptual artist Glenn Kaino, one of the film’s directors.
Introduction by Lyndon Barrois. Post-screening panel with: codirectors Glenn Kaino and Afshin Shahidi, Tommie Smith, executive producer Jesse Williams, co-moderated by Jacqueline Stewart and Rhea Combs.
Screening presented in conjunction with The Obama Portraits Tour and Black American Portraits exhibitions on view at LACMA.
Directors: Glenn Kaino, Afshin Shahidi. 2020. 83 min. USA. Color. English. DCP.