“We were just human beings who saw a need to bring attention to the inequality in our country.” – Tommie Smith

Tommie Smith and John Carlos (in the image above) were members of a political group started in San Jose State College (SJSC) in 1967. This college was a magnet for Black Activism.

Tommie joined Lee Evans and enrolled in the Track team with the world-renowned coach Bud Winter. In 1964, they provided the foundation of the world famous Speed City team. By 1965, Tommie was arguably the fastest man on earth.

Keep in mind the context and environment in the USA in these years: in this decade, John F. Kennedy, Malcolm X and Martin Lut­her King Jr. were murdered; Muhammad Ali was coming up as a sportsman who made a political stance, and the Vietnam War was going on. Taking this into account, this generation at San Jose State College was willing to do whatever they could to transform America.

Harry Edwards, sociologist and professor of “Racial Minorities” in the SJSC lighted a spark in Tommie which was noticeable in 1967. During an interview, Smith said: “A boycott is possible and probable. (…) Why should we participate for a country give a 100% effort and come back to our homes to be denied some of the rights that should have been given to us?”

Harry and Ken Noel (another Sociology professor) started the Olympic Project for Human Rights (OPHR) in order to fight racist bias in campus regarding different aspects such as housing.

By November 1967, Harry won unanimous support for the idea of the boycott. By the time it became an actual possibility, Avery Brundage, president of the International Olympic Committee (IOC), said sports should be a politics-free zone. Brundage was known for sympathizing with the Nazis in the 1936 Olympics as the Head of the American Olympic Committee.

At this time, some of the black American athletes agreed with the president of the IOC. Since they were in the final stage of their career they did not want to risk a bad ending just because of a political ideal.

The OPHR became a vehicle for the boycott. Martin Luther King Jr. quickly showed his support for the group, signing up as an advisor. This group threaten to boycott the 1968 Olympic Games unless some conditions met:

– South Africa and Rhodesia uninvited from the Olympics;

– Restoration of Muhammad Ali’s title and dismissal of his suspension;

– Removal of Avery Brundage as the president of the IOC;

– Hire more African-American assistant coaches.

Come February 1968 and there was a boycott to the meeting in the New York Athletic Club. Only three or four black athletes competed in that event. Even though it was a successful boycott, it had some nasty consequences. Harry received hate mail and threats besides he became a target for the Federal Authorities.

John Carlos joined the San Jose team. He came as a very talented sprinter from Harlem who understood the cause they were fighting for at OPHR.

The Harvard Rowing team expressed their support for the cause by writing letters to US Olympic athletes asking for their understanding in regards to this situation. Answers were few.

Avery Brundage threatened the OPHR boys saying he knew what to do with them in case there was a boycott, which meant he would kick them off the Olympic team and send them home.

At this time, Harry had retreated from the OPHR movement due to being a huge target of threats. Thus, the movement was weakening, nevertheless, there were many ways of boycotting the Olympics.

When the Olympics started, Brundage was dedicating efforts to neutralize any threats of political activism from the US team. In this team, people believed something was about to happen but there was no real plan and Harry was being missed.

Tommie Smith pulled a muscle right after crossing the line in the 200 metres semi-final. Then he made everything he could to recover before the final, putting ice and testing it out. Afterwards, in the final, Tommie had a bad first half of the race but managed to pull away in the end, winning gold for the USA. John Carlos came in the third position. Between them came Peter Norman, a white Australian sprinter.

By the time the podium ceremony was about to happen when Peter Norman realised the Americans were making a statement, he asked to be part of it and Paul Hoffman (American Rowing team) gave him an OPHR badge. As to Tommie and John, they were wearing a black glove each (Tommie in the right hand and John in the left one), wearing black socks and no shoes. John was also with his jacket open, breaching the protocol.

Since a closed fist with a raised arm was connected with Black Power salute, this initiative was not well received by everyone. Tommie actually said this was more of a cry for freedom than a Black Power salute. They also did it to show that black people were united in this fight for their rights.

Nobody back home expected what actually happened since there was no specific plan. Anyway, during the whole of the Star Spangled Banner, they kept their pose and no shooting happened (in the same year MLK and Bobby Kennedy were shot).

Tommie and John were suspended from the US Olympic team and they were sent home. It was from then on that it had more impact. They both were interviewed back in the US and explained the reasons which made them do their protest in the Olympic Games.

After Tommie and John were sent home, even some athletes who were not involved in the protests became so, since they were angry about it. For instance, Bob Beamon and Ralph Boston, who at first were against the protest, both made it to the podium and did a small protest in support of John and Tommie.

Lee Evans, one of the founders of the OPHR, achieved gold at the 400 metres and was eager to make a statement. Two of his teammates joined him on the podium, and all black athletes wore a beret stepped up the podium. They all took their hats off when the anthem played, which, unfairly, led to some disappointment from black people with extremely high expectations.

As Lee said: “Somebody said they were going to shoot. (…) So I figured it would be hard to shoot a guy with a big smile on his face. I had my biggest smile because I was scared to death.”

Even though black people treated Tommie and John very well, celebrating their arrival, white people were hostile. Hence, even though these athletes were very courageous making bold statements during the Olympics, their life did not become easier when they came back home. Lee was not so well received, he actually received some backlash. Besides, Harry Edwards lost his job at the University.

Only in October 2005 did actual recognition came about for these audacious leaders as a statue of their iconic protest was unveiled at San Jose State College.

“It stands for diversity. It stands for vision and strength. It stands for belief in the right things. That’s what I think it stands for.” – John Carlos