---
title: A Peek Inside … Journalism Professor Kevin Blackistone’s Office
date: 2022-03-15T05:30:00-04:00
author: University of Maryland
canonical_url: "https://today.umd.edu/a-peek-inside-journalism-professor-kevin-blackistones-office"
section: Articles
---
# A Peek Inside … Journalism Professor Kevin Blackistone’s Office

*March 15, 2022* — by [Karen Shih ’09](/author/karen-shih)


> Sportswriter Honors Past With Reminders of Social Justice Struggles

*Kevin Blackistone Office Portrait 03102022 JC 9030 1920x2080 — Journalism Professor Kevin Blackistone stands in front of an original piece of art depicting the podium protest at the 1968 Olympics. To the right, he displays a print of a painting of Doug Williams, the first Black quarterback to start and win a Super Bowl, by Preston Sampson ’86—one of many artifacts throughout Blackistone’s office representing key moments in sports and racial justice history.*

From an ear-splitting South African vuvuzela to a striking pop-art interpretation of a powerful Olympics moment, the collectibles in Professor of the Practice Kevin Blackistone’s office in Knight Hall transport visitors on a journey through iconic moments in sports history.

Blackistone, a Washington Post columnist who initially served as the Shirley Povich Chair in Sports Journalism when he came to the Philip Merrill College of Journalism in 2008, honors the legacy of legendary sportswriter Povich and his own parents, who called out social and racial injustices. He shares stories behind his personal and professional memorabilia with Maryland Today.

**The framed OIympics Black Power salute** “This is the most iconic sports photograph ever,” says Blackistone, who commissioned the piece from a Dallas artist, Curt Eichelberger, and has met all three athletes. During the 1968 Olympics in Mexico City, as the struggle for Black civil rights continued in the United States, 200-meter sprint gold medalist Tommie Smith and bronze medalist John Carlos stood on the podium and raised black-gloved fists in protest.

“These guys, before the phrase ‘athlete activist’ was a thing, were already doing athlete activism. They got drummed out of the Olympics over this. Their lives were pretty much upended over this. And if you talk to them today, they would do the same thing. So when people talk about sacrifice, if you’re not talking about Tommie Smith and John Carlos, you’re not really talking about sacrifice.



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*Framed letters to and from the Washington Redskins*



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*Laptop and typewriter on a shelf*



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*Bobbleheads on a shelf*



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*Press passes*




**Topics:** [Campus & Community](https://today.umd.edu/tags/campus-community)


**Tags:** [A Peek Inside](https://today.umd.edu/topic/a-peek-inside)


**Units:** [Philip Merrill College of Journalism](https://today.umd.edu/topic/philip-merrill-college-journalism)