50 years ago, Tommie Smith and John Carlos took the podium at the Mexico City Olympics and protested in a culmination of plans that had been organized under the guidance of Harry Edwards, a professor at San Jose State University. They named it the Olympic Project for Human Rights. They were protesting racism at home and globally along with apartheid in South Africa and Rhodesia. Peter Norman, an Australian, also wore the OPHR patch in solidarity. One of the goals of the OPHR was to see Avery Brundage removed as president of the International Olympics Committee. “The action of these negroes was an insult to the Mexican hosts and a disgrace to the United States,” was one of his comments about the moment. Some believed he was a racist and Anti-Semite; he strongly advocated for the 1936 games to happen in Berlin in spite of Hitler’s regime being firmly in place. That’s another discussion, no disrespect to Jesse Owens. This photo has many symbols: hands in a Black glove in a fist for Black power and solidarity; a Black scarf for Black pride; no shoes for Black poverty; beads for lynching and murdered slaves; open jacket for the overlooked working class, Black and White. For context, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. was murdered on April 4, 1968. Vietnam War is going on. Black Panther Party growing. J. Edgar Hoover’s FBI COINTELPRO is active. This is a big and pivotal moment, clearly as we talk about it 50 years later. It’s nested in an important time too. #tommiesmith #johncarlos #mexicocityolympics1968 #ophr #harryedwards #blackpowerfist https://www.instagram.com/p/BpA6iifBKH-/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=sffn0wvgeu4