The 1968 Olympic Games in Mexico City were marked by two events, one on the track and one on the podium where athletes received their medals.

On the track, American, Bob Beaman shattered the world record in the long jump. From 1935 to 1968 the world record for the long jump had increased by 81⁄2 inches, to 27' 41⁄2 inches. In one jump Beaman raised the mark by a whopping 211⁄2 inches, to 29' 21⁄2 inches -- a World mark that stood until 1991, and is still the Olympic record.

Beaman's exploit, great as it was, was overshadowed by what took place after the 200 meter race. Tommie Smith, USA, took the gold medal, Peter Norman, Australia, the silver and John Carlos, USA, the bronze in that event.

The two Americans caused an international incident when they ascended the podium, raised black gloved, clenched fists to the sky, and bowed their heads as the Star Spangled Banner was being played.

Olympic officials, especially Chairman Avery Brundage, were outraged. The Olympics are supposed to be free of political demonstrations by athletes. For many years athletes competed as individuals and not as citizens of any particular country, but national pride took over the Olympics and for some time Olympic Games have served as a stage for international posturing, and the number of medals won are the measuring rod.

The '60s were a time of change in the United States and the world. Demonstrations against the war in Vietnam were numerous. Demands for Women's Rights and Rights for other various minorities were increasingly vocal, and sometimes quite violent.

Leading up to the Olympics there had been a movement, led by Social Activist, Harry Edwards, the founder of OPHR (Olympics Project for Human Rights), for the United States to boycott the Olympic Games in Mexico City, as a means of stepping up demands for Equal Rights for minorities---especially Blacks, in the United States. This movement fell short, but Edward's cause was important to Smith and Carlos.

Tommie Smith and John Carlos were two of the leading sprinters in the world. All season they had raced against one another, one winning at one meet, the other the winner the next time out. They were determined that Harry Edward's OPHR should be recognized in Mexico City. Together, they devised the plan for their black power salute.

The appearance and actions of Smith and Carlos at the medal ceremony were rife with symbolism, which they later explained. They mounted the platform, shoeless, but wearing black socks -- to denote poverty among black people. Smith wore a black scarf around his neck to denote black pride. Carlos wore beads, which stood for "individuals who were lynched or killed and no one said a prayer for, that were hung or tarred … "

Both athletes planned to wear black gloves to the event, but Carlos forgot to bring his to the ceremony. Peter Norman the Australian Silver medalist (who supported their cause and wore an OPHR badge on the podium) saved the day when he suggested a variation of the "Black Power Salute."

Carlos should wear Smith's left glove -- together the two would each raise a gloved fist into the air, the arch between them suggesting black harmony, unity, and power. And finally, as National Anthem honoring the winner as an American was played, the two bowed their heads sadly over the plight of blacks.

There was immediate reaction to the actions of the two black athletes. They were suspended from the Olympic team and barred from the Olympic Village. They were castigated by the U.S. and World Press -- some equating their actions to terrorism. Both men, themselves, were terrorized, when they received death threats from crazies.

Yet, there were also people around the world who viewed the actions of Smith and Carlos as acts of bravery, and set the two up as Civil Rights heroes, on par with Martin Luther King. In the intervening 40 years this is the view that has prevailed.

The three sprint medalists took differing paths after the Mexico City Olympics -- not always easy. Tommie Smith played professional football with the Cincinnati Bengals for a short time, and then became a Professor of Physical Education at Oberlin College. In 1995, he helped coach the United States team to a World Indoor Championship at Barcelona. In 1999, he was awarded the honor of "Sportsman of the Millenium." Today he makes his living as a public speaker at sports events.

After the Olympics John Carlos continued racing with some success. In 1969 he equaled the World Record in the 100 meter sprint. He too tried his hand at professional football, with the Philadelphia Eagles, but a knee injury ended his career as an athlete.

The decade of the '70s was a tough time for Carlos. Carlos blames the constant negative attention for his first wife's suicide in 1977. In 1984 he was hired by Olympic Organizing Committee to promote the Olympic Games in Los Angeles and to act as a liaison between the Olympics and the African American Community. In 1985 Carlos was hired as a track coach at a Palm Springs, Calif., high school, where he has enjoyed success and where he still works.

Peter Norman, the Silver Medal winner perhaps suffered the most of the three. Back home again, he was ostracized by the Australian Olympic Committee. He failed to make the '72 team, despite finishing third in the Olympic trials. He kept running until a ruptured Achilles' tendon developed gangrene and nearly cost him his leg and his life. In deep depression, he developed a serious drinking problem. He died of a heart attack in 2006. Tommie Smith and John Carlos were pallbearers at his funeral.

Today, Smith and Carlos do not present a united front, for any cause. The two are openly belligerent toward one another. Carlos claims he let Smith win the race (which Carlos had won in the preliminaries).

Smith vehemently denies this. He says that as he neared the finish line he turned on the "Tommie Burners" and pulled away in the last yards of the race to win. They agree that it was necessary to make a statement at that time, and have no regrets that they were the ones to make it happen. But each claims that the idea for the demonstration was his own. Each trashes the other's book on the incident.

Over the years the Smith Carlos duo has received many honors. A few:

San Jose University, where Smith and Carlos were teammates, has honored them by erecting a 22' statue of the two, posed in their defiant stand.

This year their historic action at Mexico City was acknowledged when the two were honored with the Arthur Ashe Medal for Courage at the 2008 ESPY Awards.

Fortieth anniversary documentary films in both Great Britain and Australia have been issued about the actions of the two at the 1968 Olympics. (The Australian film was directed by Matt Norman, the nephew of silver medalist, Peter Norman.)

Though they may regret it, Smith and Carlos are forever linked together in the history of sports and the Civil Rights movement.

Source:

David Davis in L.A. Times, Wikipedia

Next week:

Gary Power, a McCook man who was a member of the AAU team with Smith and Carlos, looks back at the sport of Track and Field in the '60s and '70s.