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The Forgotten Olympic Civil Rights Movement Of 1968

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The Forgotten Olympic Civil Rights Movement of 1968

In the 1968 Olympics, something unprecedented happened, 2 men when receiving their medals raised their fist in what is now known as the black power salute. The salute is a fist held up high while the head is looking down. Today there is the Black Lives Matter movement and many others, but back then protesting like that wasn’t near as common as it is today. John Carlos, one of the men who lifted his hand in protest, did this because he wanted people t know tha the had broken free from the prejudice at the time. This prejudice was the idea that African Americans couldn’t beat a white man, however John Carlos and Tommie Smith just came medaled. The Mexican Olympics took place in 1968 from …show more content…

The social backlash against it included instantaneous booing within the stadium as well as racial slurs being yelled from the stands. After this, the media got a word of this and started to rile up Americans, who thought these African Americans were being ungrateful. The media claimed that these two, Carlos and Smith, disgraced the Olympic games. The International Olympic Committee (IOC) president ordered Carlos and to be suspended from the United States team and Olympic Village This whole situation was a major deal at the time and still has left its mark today. First there was the influence on the Civil Rights movement at the time at home in the US.. Second the broader influence of the Salute across the world. Thirdly was the creation of the fist as a symbol that has impacted the Black Lives Matter and other movements today. The impact created by the 1968 Olympics on the Civil Rights Movement

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