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The Mexico City Olympics that occurred in 1968 is one of the most well-known protests during the Civil Rights Movement and a big leap for the Black Power group in terms of influence and controversy. During the Mexico City Olympics in 1968, two African-American sprinters, Tommie Smith and John Carlos, decided to protest black oppression and discrimination in America during that time period. After the two sprinters had placed 1st and 3rd respectively, they wore black socks and raised their fists with black gloves on them to show their support for the Black Power Movement. They were then booed off the podium and had their medals revoked, but this protest was a huge step for the Civil Rights Movement as a whole, because these two sprinters appealed to the whole world and brought controversy and thought to the idea of racism and oppression in the U.S. during that time period, eventually paving the way towards many acts and changes in thought in the future.
A little bit of background on these sprinters, Tommie Smith was a world-class sprinter in the 60's and held the world record for the 200-meter dash which was 19.83 seconds, that he set during the Mexico City Olympics, for almost 40 years until it was beaten by another world class sprinter, Tyson Gay. He was a star athlete in high school and had personally experienced racism in his home city of San Jose and wanted to show his stance against it by supporting the Black Power Movement. John Carlos came from a similar background, he was born in Harlem, New York and had outstanding athletic performance and grades, eventually leading him to attend San Jose University along with his teammate Tommie Smith. Both had experienced forms of racism in the United States, but the other sprinter who protested, Peter Norman, had a very different upbringing. Coming from a Christian family and being a white person in Australia, he didn't experience racism as much his fellow athletes, but sympathizing with their cause, he decided to protest the discrimination in America as well with Smith and Carlos.
All three sprinters experienced ridicule and exile when they came back to their respective countries and hometowns. Smith and Carlos especially received the brunt of the hate, with death threats to their families and banned from the Olympic Village. However, their medals weren't actually revoked as the records indicate, as Carlos has said that his medal is currently with his mother and that the statements aren't true. Norman went downhill after the protest as well, experiencing sanction and ridicule when he returned to his home country. Even after having more than adequate times for the 1972 Olympics, he wasn't selected and never ran the Olympics again. Then in 1985, after tearing his Achilles' heel in a charity race, he contacted gangrene and nearly had his leg amputated, which led to a heavy depression and drug/alcohol abuse.
The movement, Black Power, was a very controversial one during the 60's as well, which was a main factor in the ridicule that the sprinters experienced after protesting for the movement. Groups like the Black Panther Party were carrying around guns and openly supporting the movement in America, creating tensions with non-black residents in the U.S, speakers like Malcolm X were openly talking about black rebellion and fighting back against "white oppressors", and marches were being held all over the country protesting the unfair treatment of blacks. Supporting this group during the 60's was almost like social suicide, as you would be seen as a rebel and lose all the reputation you had. So, a protest supporting the Black Power movement, like the Mexico City Olympics example, would obviously have a huge backlash and the people involved would be targets of hate and ridicule.
Connecting to Today
This event is very special in its own right, but there have been many events recently in 2018 that are extremely similar to this protest. A great example would be the recent kneeling in football games by athletes during the anthem to protest black oppression and discrimination, which are the same issues that were being addressed 50 years ago by Smith and Carlos. The kneeling during the games experience huge backlash from the people, calling the players disrespectful and unpatriotic, which was not the goal of the two players at all. Colin Kaepernick and Eric Reid were trying to respectfully protest the killing of unarmed black people in the U.S, but were met with heavy ridicule and backlash, even from the President of the United States, calling anyone who protests by kneeling, "a son of a bitch," and that if you don't stand during the anthem, "You're fired." Many agreed with Trump's stance, calling the protesters Un-American and a disgrace to their country, while others applauded their efforts, calling them heroes and people who're staying true to American ideals. The NFL, not wanting to be a target of the media and not wanting to take sides, decided to issue a ruling which states that players must stand during the anthem or the team will be subject to a fine. However, the players can choose to stay in the locker room during the anthem to show protest with no fine to their team. Overall, the situation that these players are in are similar to the situations that the sprinters were in during 1968. They both are supporting a movement and cause that they care about at the risk of their careers and reputation in order to progress their movement. As a black student in California, saying that racism doesn't exist and that the police brutalities that have been happening against black people to me is a statement that isn't true at all. These protests are justified in their cause, but I feel there are more, effective ways to protest these issues in America that will really get the point across. The only question now is, how are we going to do it?
Citations
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Brown, DeNeen L. “They Didn't #TakeTheKnee: The Black Power Protest Salute That Shook the World in 1968.” The Washington Post, WP Company, 24 Sept. 2017, www.washingtonpost.com/news/retropolis/wp/2017/09/24/they-didnt-takeaknee-the-black-power-protest-salute-that-shook-the-world-in-1968/?noredirect=on&utm_term=.98623cf9f848.
Cosgrove27, Ben. “Black Power Salute: Tommie Smith and John Carlos at the 1968 Olympics.”
Time, Time, 27 Sept. 2014,
time.com/3880999/black-power-salute-tommie-smith-and-john-carlos-at-the-1968-olympics
Montague, James. “The Third Man: The Forgotten Black Power Hero.” CNN, Cable News
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Vincent, Donovan. “The Forgotten Story behind the 'Black Power' Photo from 1968 Olympics.”
Thestar.com, Toronto Star, 7 Aug. 2016,
www.thestar.com/news/insight/2016/08/07/the-forgotten-story-behind-the-black-power-photo-from-1968-olympics.html.