‘We were trying to wake the country up and wake the world up too.’ – JOHN CARLOS
The Olympics are intended to be a celebration of global unity. But when the American sprinters Tommie Smith and John Carlos ascended the medal stand at the 1968 Games in Mexico City, they were determined to shatter the illusion that all was right in the world.
Just before “The Star-Spangled Banner” began to play, Smith, the gold medalist, and Carlos, the bronze winner, bowed their heads and raised black-gloved fists in the air. Their message could not have been clearer: Before we salute America, America must treat blacks as equal.
“We knew that what we were going to do was far greater than any athletic feat,” Carlos later said. John Dominis, a quick-fingered LIFE photographer known for capturing unexpected moments, shot a close-up that revealed another layer: Smith in black socks, his running shoes off, in a gesture meant to symbolize black poverty. Published in LIFE, Dominis’ image turned the somber protest into an iconic emblem of the turbulent 1960s.
