2010 Black History Month: Former San Jose State Track and Field U.S. Olympic Athletes John Carlos and Tommie Smith
“If I win, I am American, not a black American. But if I did something bad, then they would say I am a Negro. We are black and we are proud of being black. Black America will understand what we did tonight.” Tommie Smith U.S. Track and Field Olympian Mexico City, 1968
It was October 16, 1968 at the Olympic Games in Mexico City where John Carlos and Tommie Smith, along with white Australian Silver medalist Peter Norman, who wore a human rights badge on the podium in solidarity of the Americans’ protest, made headlines around the world.
Read more about these two former Olympic athletes who were suspended from the games for silently protesting their opposition to ongoing U.S. human rights violations in 1968.
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