AVAM's Play(ful) Ball Gala

Join us for an extravaganza celebrating the intersection of sports, art, and activism at AVAM's Play(ful) Ball Gala on Saturday, June 28 with activities starting at 5:30 PM!

AVAM's Board of Directors and Gala Committee selected Dr. John Carlos as the recipient of the Lifetime Grand Visionary Award for his lifelong commitment to sports activism and courageous protest against social injustice, immortalized when he joined Gold Medalist Tommie Smith and Silver Medalist, Australian Peter Norman, on the podium at the 1968 Mexico City Olympics. During the medal ceremony, Carlos and Smith raised their gloved fists as the U.S. National Anthem played. This moment remains one of the most iconic political statements in sports history.