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Pioneering sports sociologist Dr. Harry Edwards says the country is at an inflection point

Bay Area civil rights icon Dr. Harry Edwards looks back at his life
Bay Area civil rights icon Dr. Harry Edwards looks back at his life 05:07

Dr. Harry Edwards may be best known as the architect of the 1968 Olympics protest, but that was only the beginning of a very long and courageous career in the field of study that he pioneered: the sociology of sport.

"Today the biggest problem that America has is that we're afraid of each other. The biggest problem we have is that we're afraid of change," explained Edwards.

A sociologist and civil rights icon, in a recent interview, Dr. Edwards told CBS News Bay Area that America has reached an inflection point.

"To the extent that we don't face up to that challenge, there are some very, very, very dark days ahead. Because I am not convinced that we have the best and the brightest people making critical decisions, top to bottom in American society. At some point, things could very well be stressed and bent to the breaking point," Edwards said. "The notion that we can go back to something is ludicrous.  We can't go back to make America great again. We can't go back, even if we could define a point of agreement of when America was great.  In the 1920's when we had an epidemic of lynching?"

At 82 years old, Edwards is still speaking up and speaking out on issues of race and equality, politics, society and sports just as he did as a student-athlete and sociology professor at San Jose State in the 1960's.

While earning his Ph.D. from Cornell, he organized the Olympic Project for Human Rights, which led to fellow Spartans Tommie Smith and John Carlos raising their gloved fists on the medal stand during the 1968 Summer Olympics in Mexico City.

The moment, which was at first widely denounced, is now immortalized by a larger than life statue on the SJSU campus.

"San Jose State was perfect in terms of size, in terms of culture, in terms of contact with broader national and even international prominence," he said. "But at the same time, it wasn't structured so tightly and so tightly controlled that it was oppressive. So it created an environment where it was possible to dream big dreams of change and to actually begin to implement them. And we had the world-class athletes there who could bring attention to these types of issues."

Today, Edwards — a Professor Emeritus at UC Berkeley — worries about the impact of a chaotic social media environment and artificial intelligence.

"We have a glut of information where the first issue is to decide what is fake and what is real," he said. "What is substantive and what is simply concocted?"

He's also concerned about the absence of athletes willing to take a stand on social issues, and understands why.

"Colin Kaepernick took a stand. And it was made crystal clear that there is a huge price to pay," Edwards pointed out.

But he says in American life, new social movements and new leaders will always emerge.

"One of the things that has become quite clear is that women are going to play an increasing role in that next effort.  I'm not concerned that we don't see the leadership for that," said Edwards. "Nobody saw Dr. King coming, a 26 year old preacher from Birmingham, Alabama.  But the one thing I'm absolutely positive about is that SHE'S on her way because that's where I think we are as a society."

Edwards was recently honored by the 49ers as the team's 2024 Inspire Change Changemaker, an award given annually to people who make a difference in their community.

He was first hired by Coach Bill Walsh as a team consultant and has been involved in recruiting black talent for front-office positions across major league sports.

But recently, health concerns have slowed his steps. He's battling bone cancer, which was diagnosed as terminal.

"I choose to manage it this way," he said. "I'm going to keep on doing what I'm doing with the same attitude, disposition and so forth through whatever I have to go through to get to where this phase of my journey on this planet is taking me.  And I'm at peace with that."

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