Tommie Smith and John Carlos raised black-gloved fists at the 1968 Olympics medal ceremony in one of the most overtly political acts in modern Olympic history.
Key Facts
- Date
- October 16, 1968
- Event
- 200-meter running, 1968 Summer Olympics
- Tommie Smith's result
- Gold medal
- John Carlos's result
- Bronze medal
- Silver medalist
- Peter Norman (Australia)
- Smith's own description
- A human rights salute, not a Black Power salute
Location
Cause → Event → Consequence
Amid the civil rights movement in the United States, African-American athletes faced pressure to use the global platform of the Olympics to protest racial inequality. Smith and Carlos chose the medal ceremony as an opportunity to make a public statement about human rights and the treatment of Black Americans.
On October 16, 1968, at the Olympic Stadium in Mexico City, Tommie Smith and John Carlos stood on the podium after the 200-meter final and each raised a black-gloved fist during the US national anthem. Smith, Carlos, and silver medalist Peter Norman also wore human-rights badges on their jackets during the ceremony.
The gesture drew immediate controversy and both athletes were expelled from the Olympic Village by the US Olympic Committee. The image became an enduring symbol of the civil rights movement and protest in sport. Smith later clarified in his autobiography that the act was intended as a human rights statement rather than a strictly Black Power salute.
Result
at Olympic Stadium, Mexico City