San José Museum of Art

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Speed City: From Civil Rights to Black Power

  • A large wooden badge shaped object filled with smaller blue badges hangs against a blue wall. To the right, "Speed City from Civil Rights to Black Power" reads in white vinyl. To the left are three black and white photographs—their subjects unclear.

    Installation view of Speed City: From Civil Rights to Black Power, San José Museum of Art, California, 2019. Photos by JKA Photography.

  • A gallery view showing title wall, wall text, and several display cases along the side walls. The back wall is entirely filled by a large mural filled with people. The most prominent figure seems to be Olympian Tommie Smith, with his fist raised in power and protest.
     
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  • A cornflower blue platform holds a track and field hurdle and starting block. Historical items and photographs can be seen in the background, one of them being an olympics USA blue track suit.
     
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  • Large white italicized letters on a blue gallery wall announce the name of an exhibition as Speed City: From Civil Rights to Black Power. To the left of the text is a wooden shield for San Jose State covered in blue award pendants. Three framed black and white photographs also hang further down the wall.
     
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    This archival exhibition, originally curated by Urla Hill in 2007, examines the broader history of athletics at San José State beyond Tommie Smith and within the historical framework of the civil rights movement in the 1960s. Featuring memorabilia, ephemera, photographs, and archival documents, Speed City: From Civil Rights to Black Power reveals the unique cross-section of sports and activism fostered at SJSU from the late 1940s through 1969.

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