Prominent Black Athletes Speak At PSHS

PALM SPRINGS – You may not recognize him,but, you may know his name: John Carlos. He is the same John Carlos who won a bronze medal in the 1968 Summer Olympics, and raised his fist on the podium as a salute to black power.

Forty-twoyears later, Carlos gave students at Palm Springs High School the power to succeed.

“You have to know who you are,” he said. “You have to know what you want, what you’re looking for in life. Many people have money, but money doesn’t really make them what they want tobe out of life.”

Carlos is no stranger to hardships. Growing up in Harlem,N.Y., he also wasdiagnosed with dyslexia. It was a hurdle he knew he had to overcome.

“Ithought it was necessary for me to learn how to read ifI was going tobe productive in athletics and everything else becauseI felt it was far more than just athletics if you become a ‘superstar.'”

Carlos now works at the high school. He has been there for nearly two dozen years. On Tuesday, he and a handful of prominent speakers celebrated Black History Month.

Sharing the stage with Carlos was Will Pellum, a Class of ’84 alum and now one of the school’s football coaches. Pellum says you learn a lot of life’s lessons through sports.

“You learn to get up and go to practice Monday thru Friday,” Pellum said. “Friday nights, you play the game. It’s like payday!”

Pellum channeled his athletic experiences when dealing with his own family struggles, like when he found out his son had leukemia in December 2008.

“Getting through that and learning that we can work this out, we can make this happen. I went back to all the strugglesI had with sports and howI learned and pushed through those. That’s what got me through.”

Take it from these guys: Playing sports is more than a way to stay out of trouble. It’s a way to tackle life on and off the fields — and on and off the Olympic podiums.