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on This Day In Photos: October 17 1968:

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On This Day In Photos: When Tommie Smith, John Carlos And Peter Norman Made A Stand

ON This Day In Photos: October 17 1968: At the Mexico Olympics, Tommie Smith and John Carlos, gold and bronze medallists in the 200m, race a clenched fist against racial discrimination. As the strains of the American National Anthem struck up. Smith and Carlos, dressed in black socks and no shoes to represent black poverty, made their protest.

Said Smith:

“If I win I am an American, not a black American. But if I did something bad then they would say ‘a Negro’. We are black and we are proud of being black. Black America will understand what we did tonight.”

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Posted: 17th, October 2011 | In: Flashback | Comment