An artist friend Scott Lucia drew this picture from the 1968 Summer Olympics in Mexico City. John Carlos and Tommie Smith at the medal ceremony with their fists raised awareness of racial injustice in the United States. This image was met with anger and disgust by the American public. Both men were later stripped of their medals.
1968 became my defining year
In 1968 the struggle for racial equality and justice was like last year.
George Floyd I can breathe! Brianna Taylor say my name!
Protests and riots engulfed the country.
In April of that year, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was assassinated, and in June, Senator Robert Kennedy received the same fate in Los Angeles. Niagara Falls Board of Education closed the two predominately black schools Centre Avenue and 13th Street. My friends and I were bussed to white school districts throughout the city. This caused fear, anger, and uncertainty in our communities.
WORLD RECORD LONG JUMP
29.2 feet
BEAMON USA
Life was confusing for an 8 year old until October the Summer Olympics in Mexico City Bob Beaman shattered the Long Jump record of 29.2 feet.
Unfortunately, his accomplishment was overshadowed by John Carlos, and Tommie Smith’s receiving medals with their fists proudly raised overhead. Being a sports kid, I found my identity during the broadcast. I no longer accepted the title of colored or negro; I became black, a black American.
As James Brown once sang,
"Say it loud, I'm Black, and I'm proud!"
In December of 1968, Apollo 8 orbited the moon; in slightly over fifty years, we landed a rover on Mars. It has been fifty years, and we have yet to become the United States. We are all part of the country’s history. Black History is American History that deserves more attention than one month. Change is going to come!
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Peter Norman the silver medalist of the 1968 games in Mexico became lifetime friend of Carlos and Smith until his death.
