Protesting Against Racism at the 1968 Olympics Essay

Boycotting has been used throughout history as an instrument for foreign policy. “For any Olympics to be a true Olympics, all the world’s nations should be represented,” said Anderson. “Not … those … on one side or the other of political barbed wire.” As a result of boycott, the essence of the games—competition—diminished. At the 1980 Olympics where the United States decided to stay home, the Soviet Union swept 195 medals—the largest won in history—followed by the United States in 1984 with 174 medals, when, by no surprise, the Soviets decided to miss. Ironically, the spirit of the Olympics turned cold alongside the Cold War. “[The domination as a result of boycott] diminished any accomplishments in working hard,” said Al Oerter, a four-time Olympic gold-medal winner. The Olympic Games quickly turned into a game for politicians, not the athletes. James Montague, the 2009 Best New Writer, wrote in CNN that Carter’s idea of a “good, non-military way of protesting the invasion” was not effective, with the Soviet occupation of Afghanistan lasting another eight years. The 1976 boycott was not effective either; the South African apartheid regime survived another eighteen years. Boycotting did more damage at home than it did away: it proved horrible for the Olympic movement and for athletes like Don Paige, a renowned track runner, who was left to watch the race he knew he could win.

This protest by the two athletes has been interpreted as an “act of disloyalty.” Smith describes this act, not out of disloyalty but as a “need to bring attention to the inequality in our country.  I don’t like the idea of people looking at it as negative.  There was nothing but a raised fist in the air and a bowed head, acknowledging the American flag – not symbolizing a hatred for it."

American History X is clearly a film dealing with racism. The interesting thing about this film is the way in which the subject is treated. First of all, it is obvious that, though racism is always a difficult subject to deal with, American History X presents it without any reservations or dumming down. Second, the film's figurehead for racism, Derek Vinyard (Edward Norton), is not an unintelligent redneck racist as films often portray them, but is in fact well-spoken, charismatic and intelligent, although he clearly holds ideals that are terribly wrong. Finally, the film shows that it is not just the white, neo-nazi racists who are fools to be involved in this, but all racism is foolish. Through these methods, the film shows the viewer,

Ever since September of last year, the NFL National Anthem Protest has been one of the most controversial topics across social-media, alongside with other protests against police brutality. Many have criticized for such an action for being disrespectful to the National Anthem and Flag. Those, who have supported it, claim to protest against the nationwide police brutalities against the Black people. Looking back to the history of the United States, such sports protests are not a unique incident. During 1968 Olympic game, which are hold in Mexico City, African American Athletes Tommie Smith and John Carlos raised their black-gloved fists to speak for black civil rights. Yet, back then both the U.S. government and the International Olympic Committee (IOC) did not show support for such an action, though today the IOC claimed that the black American athletes has made names for themselves for doing such protests.

Athletes have been protesting in ways which are frowned upon by the government. Athletes should use their fame to promote a political agenda because everybody has an opinion.In the article, “The athlete as agent of change,” by Lonnie Bunch and David Skorton, athletes use their fame to promote a political agenda. In this article, Bunch and Skorton list the ways that athletes silently protest in sports. Ways that listed include athletes turning their back on the flag, kneeling during the national anthem, and refusing to salute the flag. These actions show that the athlete may be opposing America and by doing this, their opinion is shown. Athletes’ opinions are very powerful because athletes are often mentors or inspirations to their fans which

Throughout Reconstruction, southern whites felt constantly threatened by legislation providing rights for former slaves. The Civil Rights Bill of 1875 was the last rights bill passed by congress during reconstruction. It protected all Americans’ (including blacks) access to public accommodations such as trains. With the threat of complete equality constantly looming, violence toward former slaves gradually increased in the years following the Civil War. Beatings and murders were committed by organized groups like the Ku Klux Klan, out-of-control mobs, and individual white southern men. During Reconstruction, white southerners had limited governmental power, so they resorted to violence in order to control

His mile time was breaking highschool records everywhere and he began to be noticed. His one dream was the olympics, Louie makes his way to the olympics he begins stealing and acting out again. He gains a lot of weight having more access to food then he has had in year but he still makes history with a 56 second final lap in a 5000 meter race (4). People began to believe the 4 minute mile was achievable through Louie Zamperini. However, with all of Louie’s success he has gained, due to the brewing WWII in Germany, the olympics were cancelled.

Smith and Carlos showed how sometimes you have to sacrifice yourself for the betterment of society. This protest also reminds us that if only the groups that want change make a stand, it will take a lot longer for change to happen. Since Norman gave them the one glove idea and wore a patch supporting human rights, he was the symbol for all others that need to help minority groups get justice. He was a white Australian and risked his athletic career to help Smith and Carlos. We can’t expect minority groups to make all the sacrifices to make America to give all Americans equal rights. Protests need to be a group effort by everyone if we want to make a difference. Even though the were hated at first, there are sculptures and murals all around the world of this protest. People are starting to see the impact that Smith and Carlos had on the world. They became an icon for social movements and protests. Colin Kaepernick is the new Smith and Carlos. He noticed change needed to happen so he risked his athletic career and image for the sake of is black brothers and sisters who are being treated

This article is the black power salute that Smith, Carlos, and Norman that the 1968 olympics. “We were just human beings who saw a need to bring attention to the inequality in our country,” Smith said years later.” This quote gives us more information about why those three athletes did the stand.

There are many reasons why the number of minorities that participate is sports vary from sport to sport. Race plays a big part in sports as well as in our society. Why is it that a group of people can harass and abuse a young black male for raping a white female, but on the next Saturday at the big football game cheer him on and hope that he has a great game. Over the years there have been some great black sports players, in almost all sports. Michael Jordan, OJ Simpson, Mohamed Ali, Bo Jackson, just to name a few. When players like these come along that are black and sort of take over a sport, many white male sports fans say stuff like, "He's black, he's faster than the white players." This tends to be true, blacks dominate the speed

The conclusion of the Civil War in favor of the north was supposed to mean an end to slavery and equal rights for the former slaves. Although laws and amendments were passed to uphold this assumption, the United States Government fell short. The thirteenth, fourteenth, and fifteenth amendments were proposed and passed within five years of the Civil War’s conclusion. These amendments were to create equality throughout the United States, especially in the south where slavery had been most abundant. Making equality a realization would not be an easy task. This is because many problems were not perceived before and during the war. The reunification of the country would prove to be harder than expected, and entry into a new lifestyle would be

In "A Worn Path", a short story by Eudora Welty, the main character, an old colored woman named Phoenix, slowly but surely makes her way down a "worn path" through the woods. Throughout her journey, she runs into many obstacles such as a thorny bush and a hunter. She overcomes these obstacles and continues with her travels. She finally reaches her destination, the doctor’s office, where she gets medicine for her sick grandson back home. Many critics have speculated that this short story represents the love a grandmother shows for her grandson. Others say this story represents life and death, where Phoenix represents an immortal figure. Dennis J. Sykes disagrees with the other critics by saying,

Like the 1968 Olympic Games, millions of Americans are ostracizing these athletes for disrespecting the flag and the overall country (Brown, 2017).

The Nazi Olympics in Berlin in 1936 destroyed Hitler’s master race history. "There was very definitely a special feeling in winning the gold medal and being a black man," Woodruff said. "We destroyed [Hitler's] master race theory whenever we started winning those gold medals,” said runner John Woodruff (7). John Woodruff was a black man who won a gold medal. Another African American Jesse Owens won four track and field gold medals. These two people defied the Aryan ideal that Hitler believed that Aryan dominated the world. Another important impact the Olympic brought happened in 1956 Olympic Games in Melbourne, Australia. In that Olympics, Egypt, Iraq, Lebanon refused to participate because of a dispute over the Suez Canal; Spain, Switzerland, and the Netherlands boycotted the Games in protest over the Soviet Union's invasion of Hungary; China boycotted the Games because a flag of Taiwan was raised in the Olympic Village. The original purpose of the Olympics was to make the countries collaborate, however, it also brought negative impacts. Another example is that Olympics in Mexico city in 1968. Americans politicised the Games by letting two African Americans, Tommie Smith and John Carlos, represent the United States. Tommie Smith and John Carlos placed first and third in the track and field. During their medal ceremony, they raised a clenched fist above their

A person from the IOC said it was "a deliberate and violent breach of the fundamental principles of the Olympic spirit"(BBC On this Day 1968: Black athletes make silent protest). This was a social and political