HOW DID THE CIVIL RIGHTS AFFECT THE 1968 OLYMPICS IN MEXICO CITY? Tommie Smith and John Carlos, both African American sprinters, went to the Olympics Summer Olympics held in Mexico City, Mexico, with their head raised high and they didn’t care what color there skin was.Smith and Carlos were against racism. When Smith and Carlos went to the medal ceremonies for getting first and third for the 200 meter race, they went with pride. They both received their medals, shoeless, wearing black socks to represent black poverty. Smith also wore a black scarf around his neck to represent black pride. Carlos wore his track suit jacket unzipped to show respect to all blue collar workers in the U.S. and he also wore a necklace full of beads to represent the slaves that were from thrown off the sides of the boats in the middle passage from Africa to the United States. Smith and Carlos also did their own salute as the National Anthem was being played. In the salute, they raised their one fist to the sky and bowed their head to the ground.Smith later said “If I win, I am American, not a black American. But if I did something bad, then they would say I am a Negro. We are black and proud of being black. Black America will understand what we did tonight.” The response to the black power salute was not positive. Both of the athletes were banished from the games and many threats that the entire U.S. Track team could be banned from the remainder of the ’68 games. The aftermath of the Olympics was that both of the athletes were subject to criticism for their actions. Time magazine showed the five ring Olympic logo with the words,”Angrier, Nastier, Uglier”, instead of the true meaning “Faster, Higher, Stronger”. On top of that, at home they were subject to verbal abuse, and their families also received death treats often. After the Olympics Smith and Carlos both continued to be athletes; Smith signed with the Cincinnati Bengals football team for three years.Later on he became Assistant Professor of Physical Education at Oberlin College in northeast Ohio. Then in 1995 he went on to coach the U.S. Track Team at the world indoor championship in Barcelona, Spain. In the spring of 1999 he was awarded the Sportsman of Millennium Award. Now in life he is a public speaker. Carlos also continued in athletics, he equaled the 100 meter world record the following year. He then went and played football with the Philadelphia Eagles, until a knee injury prematurely ended his career. He then started to have problems at home, in 1977 his wife committed suicide, but then in 1985 he became a track coach at Palm Springs High School - he now still holds this position. Still today people honor them. San José State University in Texas honors their former students Smith and Carlos with a twenty foot high statue of them doing the black power salute. The University has an exhibit called Speed City: from Civil Rights to Black Power In conclusion Tommie Smith and John Carlos have changed the way we see people. We now look beyond their skin color; we look at their personality, and they way they act, not the way they appear to the human eye. No matter if the person has problems or if their skin is black, white, red or yellow.We are a nation, and we will stick together as a nation, no matter what comes at us, we are one tonight. I don’t know if you think the civil rights affected the 1968 Olympics but I don’t think it affected it that much but I know that it has changed the way we look at people today.
1968 OLYMPICS IN MEXICO CITY?
Tommie Smith and John Carlos, both African American sprinters, went to the Olympics Summer Olympics held in Mexico City, Mexico, with their head raised high and they didn’t care what color there skin was. Smith and Carlos were against racism. When Smith and Carlos went to the medal ceremonies for getting first and third for the 200 meter race, they went with pride. They both received their medals, shoeless, wearing black socks to represent black poverty. Smith also wore a black scarf around his neck to represent black pride. Carlos wore his track suit jacket unzipped to show respect to all blue collar workers in the U.S. and he also wore a necklace full of beads to represent the slaves that were from thrown off the sides of the boats in the middle passage from Africa to the United States.
Smith and Carlos also did their own salute as the National Anthem was being played. In the salute, they raised their one fist to the sky and bowed their head to the ground. Smith later said “If I win, I am American, not a black American. But if I did something bad, then they would say I am a Negro. We are black and proud of being black. Black America will understand what we did tonight.”
The response to the black power salute was not positive. Both of the athletes were banished from the games and many threats that the entire U.S. Track team could be banned from the remainder of the ’68 games.
The aftermath of the Olympics was that both of the athletes were subject to criticism for their actions. Time magazine showed the five ring Olympic logo with the words,”Angrier, Nastier, Uglier”, instead of the true meaning “Faster, Higher, Stronger”. On top of that, at home they were subject to verbal abuse, and their families also received death treats often.
After the Olympics Smith and Carlos both continued to be athletes;
Smith signed with the Cincinnati Bengals football team for three years. Later on he became Assistant Professor of Physical Education at Oberlin College in northeast Ohio. Then in 1995 he went on to coach the U.S. Track Team at the world indoor championship in Barcelona, Spain. In the spring of 1999 he was awarded the Sportsman of Millennium Award. Now in life he is a public speaker.
Carlos also continued in athletics, he equaled the 100 meter world record the following year. He then went and played football with the Philadelphia Eagles, until a knee injury prematurely ended his career. He then started to have problems at home, in 1977 his wife committed suicide, but then in 1985 he became a track coach at Palm Springs High School - he now still holds this position.
Still today people honor them. San José State University in Texas honors their former students Smith and Carlos with a twenty foot high statue of them doing the black power salute. The University has an exhibit called Speed City: from Civil Rights to Black Power
In conclusion Tommie Smith and John Carlos have changed the way we see people. We now look beyond their skin color; we look at their personality, and they way they act, not the way they appear to the human eye. No matter if the person has problems or if their skin is black, white, red or yellow. We are a nation, and we will stick together as a nation, no matter what comes at us, we are one tonight. I don’t know if you think the civil rights affected the 1968 Olympics but I don’t think it affected it that much but I know that it has changed the way we look at people today.
1968 Olympics **Tommie Smith**