Two Sprinters Raise Their Fists on the Olympic Podium

On October 16, 1968, American sprinter Tommie Smith won the 200-meter final at the Mexico City Olympic Games in a world-record time of 19.83 seconds. Peter Norman of Australia secured second place in 20.06 seconds, and fellow American John Carlos finished third in 20.10 seconds. When the three athletes took the podium to receive their medals, Smith and Carlos mounted the stand without shoes, wearing black socks to represent black poverty. Smith wore a black scarf symbolizing black pride, while Carlos unzipped his tracksuit top in solidarity with American blue-collar workers and wore a necklace of beads in remembrance of victims of lynchings and the Middle Passage.

Both American sprinters intended to wear pairs of black gloves, but Carlos left his behind in the Olympic Village. Following a suggestion from Norman, Carlos took Smith's left glove, leaving Smith to wear the right. When the United States national anthem began, Smith raised his right gloved fist and Carlos his left, both keeping their heads bowed until the music concluded. All three medalists also pinned badges of the Olympic Project for Human Rights to their tracksuits. Norman, an outspoken critic of his country's White Australia Policy, chose to wear the badge after discussing the protest with the two sprinters before the ceremony.