Tommie Smith and John Carlos knew all too well what their fate would be once they returned to American soil, but it would all be worth it. “When the national anthem plays and the whole world’s watching, we raise our fists.” They knew that the sight of their raised, black-gloved fists during the medal-giving ceremony of the Mexico Olympics would terrify the establishment. They would jolt those responsible and their perverse, malevolent and criminal mind sets from their torpor. They would finally shock the world by unveiling the truth. Over 200 metres they were Americans, but Tommie Smith and John Carlos had given it their all in order to win victory over the hatred and racial segregation that reigned on US soil. Americans for two hundred metres, but Black for the rest of their days.
They had raised their fists and bowed their heads in protest at the American Southern movement, the harassment of black people and the segregation laws in the Midwest. They had not hesitated. They had waited a few seconds until the US national anthem was playing before raising their fists. They were responsible. White people and their hatred were responsible. White people and their hypocrisy were responsible. The American Olympic team’s managers were humiliated. John Carlos and Tommie Smith had dared to raise their fists in an affront to the honour and supremacy of an entire nation.
The athletes were welcomed home as heroes by their families and loved ones. Black Americans felt recognised and honoured by this gesture of solidarity and bravado. From Louisiana to the Bronx, from Queens to Mississippi, Black Americans had applauded and the white supremacists had trembled with rage. They had even shaken the walls of the White House. President Lyndon Ben Johnson was furious, outraged and flummoxed. The athletes were interrogated, ridiculed, and even received death threats from white supremacists. Their courage was punished every day. Of course, they were also banned for life from the American team. The act ruined their careers, and they found themselves excluded from society.
Only recently were the pair invited back to the White House by Barack Obama. It was an understated move, yet they had fought in their own way for equality on American soil. “The IOC and International Paralympic Committee cannot continue on the path of punishing or removing athletes who speak up for what they believe in, especially when those beliefs exemplify the goals of Olympism,” they would later argue. Tommie Smith and John Carlos had sacrificed their careers, but had dared to speak out.
Over 50 years after being thrown off the US team, John Carlos would reflect: “We sacrificed our careers but we helped so many others. We realized that after 51 years the greatest invention was not the plane, not the TV, not the telephone but the eraser. To realize that we can make mistakes in life and there should be no shame. I think the USOPC has come to that point.” The American public would never forget their black fists; the gesture would remain forever etched in their memory.
Alan Alfredo Geday