The raised fist of Tommie Smith was one of the most famous silent protests in history.
After winning gold in the 200-meter dash at the 1968 Olympics, Smith bowed his head and held his black-gloved right hand up in a salute and in support of civil rights for African-Americans.
Almost 50 years later, Smith says the death of Freddie Gray in Baltimore police custody is a reminder that the country still has a way to go.
"We still have a problem. Just because '68 is almost 50 years old, that doesn't mean that it's done, it means that it's time to continue work," Smith said Friday.
The Olympian told students at Charles Herbert Flowers High School in Prince George's County that his famous protest was his way of challenging injustice at the time.
"It was a cry for freedom. I was 24 years old. I was in the back woods of Texas, seeing my father, taunted by the system, by the white man and knowing it was wrong," Smith said. "What could I do then? I didn't know how to challenge wrong. So this was my way of giving back."
Looting and lawlessness erupted in Baltimore Monday following Gray's funeral. Baltimore's State's Attorney Marilyn Mosby announced charges against the six police officers involved in Gray's arrest Friday morning.
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Smith said he's pleased with the prosecutor's announcement.
"I think that decision is a decision that has been looked forward to for a long time."
As Smith signed autographs and took pictures with the gathered teenagers, he said he hopes to inspire them.
Smith says he wants "to identify the need for us to come together and work on equality, to work on the satisfaction of being treated the same and not to be tolerated as being different because of the color of our skin."
