Description
Two American athletes made history at the 1968 Summer Olympics, but now not at the track. They staged a silent protest against racial injustice. Tommie Smith and John Carlos, gold and bronze medalists within the two hundred-meter sprint, stood with heads bowed and black-gloved fists raised as the national anthem played throughout the medal ceremony. The Australian silver medalist wore a human rights badge in strengthen. All three would pay a heavy price for their activism. A Life magazine photograph seen by millions would be sure that the silent protest used to be remembered, and in the end admired, as a symbol of the battle for equality and civil rights.