Tommie Smith, Gold
Peter Norman, Silver
John Carlos, Bronze*
*Tommie Smith and John Carlos discussed this moment in advance with Peter Norman, Silver metal winner for Australia. Norman was eager to stand with them and show support for what he considered a human rights issue. He is not participating in the raised fist of the Black Power salute because Smith and Carlos asked him not, since Norman was white and not American and so not specifically connected to Black Panthers. He is however, wearing the patch for the Olympic Project for Human Rights, also worn by Smith and Carlos. It's important to note that all three men stood together for this cause.
According to the Digital Public Library of America (DLPA): "The Black Power Movement of the 1960s and 1970s was a political and social movement whose advocates believed in racial pride, self-sufficiency, and equality for all people of Black and African descent."
The UC Berkeley Social Activism Sound Recording Project is a partnership between the UC Berkeley Library, the Pacifica Foundation, and other private and institutional sources. The intent of the project is to gather, catalog, and make accessible primary source media resources related to social activism and activist movements in California in the 1960's and 1970's. Some recordings have been slightly edited for purposes of sound quality and continuity.
Sound files in this collection require the Real Media player.
Some videos in this collection are not freely available for viewing online.
