i heard a great interview last night on the bbc with john carlos, olympic medalist, human rights campaigner
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John Carlos - Why I raised my fist at the Olympics
The interview was incredibly moving and also very sad.
Carlos mentioned that prior to the games, there was talk of black athletes boycotting the Olympics. He was disappointed when that didn't eventuate, he and fellow athlete Tommie Smith agreed to protest on the podium.
He says they wore black gloves because they didn't wish to shake the hands of one of the officials on the Olympic Committee, who was openly racist. He wore a black tee-shirt over his US tee-shirt to show his shame in his country. They had bare feet to show the extreme poverty suffered by their black compatriots.
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| Tommie Smith and John Carlos |
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| badge worn by all three athletes | commerative button ($3.70 each) |
Australian runner, Peter Norman wore an Olympic Project for Human Rights badge in support of their gesture. Smith and Carlos were pall-bearers at Peter Norman's funeral.
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| Sculpture at San Jose State University, California |
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