Tommie Smith, who won the 1968 Olympic 200m and then raised a black-gloved fist on the medal stand, is getting his own Wheaties box.
The cereal brand is offering the special edition box for pre-order, available in April. All sales will be donated to the NAACP.
“As a world champion, I always wanted to be on a Wheaties box,” Smith said in a General Mills press release. “To now be recognized by Wheaties and selected to grace the cover of their box, in the class with other great champion athletes, is an honor.”
Smith was surprised with the box in an emotional scene featured in last year’s documentary on his life titled, “With Drawn Arms.”
“We heard that you have always had a dream of being on this box,” then-General Mills senior director of global inclusion James Momon said in the scene, during which Smith wiped his eyes. “We wanted to make sure that you had the opportunity to see your face and likeness on this box. Wheaties is the brand of champions, and you represent that both on the track as well as off. Hopefully this is a small token of the legacy you’ve led.”
On the Wheaties box in the film, images on each side showed Smith raising his right fist on the podium and stretching his arms out as he won the 200m final in Mexico City.
On the Wheaties box on its website, a black silhouette is shown of a person raising a right fist while standing on a podium. On the other side is Smith running in a San Jose State singlet.
Australian Peter Norman took silver in the 1968 200m, followed by American John Carlos for bronze.
Both men, like Smith, wore an Olympic Project for Human Rights badge on the podium. Carlos, like Smith, raised a black-gloved fist during the anthem. Both Americans were sent home from the Games for the action.
Images courtesy General Mills
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