1968 political protest at Olympic Games generally considered a disgraceful action

[Fiona]

This week in 1968 at the Summer Olympic Games in Mexico City, two black American sprinters staged a political protest that galvanized the country and produced one of the most memorable photos ever taken at an athletic contest anywhere.

While standing on the podium during the ceremony to award medals for the 200-meter sprint, gold medalist Tommie Smith and bronze medalist John Carlos both raised a black-gloved fist in the air as a gesture of solidarity to the Black Power movement and -- as they later explained -- to protest against the institutional racism and poverty that black Americans suffered in the United States. (The photo, by the way, can be viewed by doing a simple Web site search using either man's name.)

In response, the International Olympic Committee stripped both men of their medals and supported the actions of the U.S. Olympic Committee, which suspended Smith and Carlos from the U.S. Olympic team and sent them home.

The IOC took this action because, as the committee explained at the time, "The basic principle of the Olympic Games is that politics plays no part whatsoever in them." When Carlos and Smith "advertised domestic political views," the committee added, they "violated this universally accepted principle."

Carlos and Smith would certainly agree with the charge that they had "advertised domestic political views." In fact, earlier in the summer they had planned to join an all-black-athlete boycott of the Mexico City Games, which a young sociologist named Harry Edwards was trying to organize in the hopes that it would call attention to the lack of progress the Civil Rights movement was making in job discrimination, anti-poverty programs, voting rights and the like. But the boycott fell through, so Smith and Carlos, who had been friends and teammates since college, decided to take matters into their own fists.

Back home in the U.S., replays of the defiant gesture dominated the evening news, and the photo was published in newspapers nationwide. Given that both Martin Luther King Jr. and Bobby Kennedy had been murdered earlier in the year, racial tensions were high in America, and while some applauded the courage that Carlos and Smith had shown, most Americans considered their action a disgrace. Carlos and Smith faced death threats, and for years both men had trouble finding lasting employment.

As an interesting aside, at the 2004 Summer Olympic Games in Greece, an Iranian judo wrestler refused to wrestle an Israeli wrestler because his country, Iran, does not recognize Israel's right to exist. It is difficult to imagine a more blatantly political gesture, yet the IOC did nothing. Apparently the principle that "politics plays no part whatsoever" at the Olympics depends on who is doing the playing.

oregonlive.com

[Fiona]

A seven-metre sculpture commemorating the 1968 Mexico City Olympics black power protest by Tommie Smith and John Carlos will be unveiled in San Jose State College on Monday.

Smith, who had won the 200 metres gold medal in world record time, and third-placed Carlos bowed their heads and raised one black-gloved hand each in the black power salute on the victory podium while "The Star-Spangled Banner" was played.

The pair, who had been team mates at the college, will be present at Monday's ceremony along with second-placed Australian Peter Norman.

Smith and Carlos say they were influenced in 1968 by a young sociologist friend Harry Edwards who asked them and other black American athletes to boycott the Games.

Edwards said the civil rights movement had not gone far enough to eliminate the injustices faced by blacks in the United States.

Although the boycott never happened, Smith and Carlos joined Edwards's group, the Olympic Project for Human Rights, and planned a peaceful protest after the 200 metres final, which they were expected to dominate.

Smith said he had raised his right fist to represent black power while Carlos's left fist represented unity in black America. A black scarf around Smith's neck stood for black pride and their black socks with no shoes represented black poverty in the United States.

They bowed their heads because they believed the words of freedom in the U.S. anthem represented white Americans only and wore a badge representing the Olympic Project for Human Rights.

"We didn't come up there with any bombs," Carlos recalled. "We were trying to wake the country up and wake the world up too."

AUSTRALIAN INVOLVED

Silver medallist Norman heard about the plan as the trio prepared for the victory ceremony.

"They involved me in the conversation," he said. "It wasn't a secret huddle, they were letting me know.

"I said to John: 'You got another of those badges?' 'If I get one will you wear it?' he asked. 'I sure would,' I replied."

The International Olympic Committee were outraged, threatening to expel the U.S. team if Smith and Carlos were not sent home.

The U.S. Olympic Committee complied and the duo were sent home. On their return to the United States they were treated as outcasts and struggled to earn a living. Both their marriages broke up and Carlos's wife committed suicide.

"We were under tremendous economic stress," said Carlos. "I took any job I could find. We had four children and some night I would have to chop up our furniture and make a fire in the middle of the room."

Smith eventually found a job as a track coach and Carlos was hired by the Los Angeles Olympic Organising Committee to help promote the 1984 Games.

"I don't feel embraced," said Carlos. "I feel like a survivor. I was almost like we were on a deserted island. But we survived."

Norman is proud to have been associated with the protest. "It's a life-changing experience that is still held up, not just as a moment in sport but as a moment in American history," he said.

reuters.co.uk