Existing comment:
Protest at the Olympics
Racial politics took the international stage in Mexico City in October when Olympic track medalists Tommie Smith and John Carlos raised their black-gloved fists in a protest for human rights on the winners' podium as the US national anthem played.
Both sprinters stood shoeless in black socks to symbolize poverty. Carlos wore a necklace with beads that represented lynching victims. Smith and Carlos's protest against racial injustice was one of the most political acts in sports history.
The powerful photo of their defiant act made headlines around the world. Smith and Carlos received death threats and were suspended from the U.S. Olympic team.
The protest, said Smith, "was a cry for freedom and for human rights. We had to be seen because we couldn't be heard." |