[Congressional Record Volume 164, Number 171 (Tuesday, October 16, 2018)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E1414-E1415]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




50TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE PROTEST BY TOMMIE SMITH, JOHN CARLOS, AND PETER 
            NORMAN AT THE 1968 OLYMPIC GAMES IN MEXICO CITY

                                 ______
                                 

                        HON. SHEILA JACKSON LEE

                                of texas

                    in the house of representatives

                       Tuesday, October 16, 2018

  Ms. JACKSON LEE. Mr. Speaker, I rise to commemorate the 50th 
Anniversary of the silent protest of Tommie Smith, John Carlos, and 
Peter Norman at the 1968 Summer Olympic Games in Mexico City.
  Mr. Speaker, we know that if it were not for the active protest of 
patriots, the United States of America would not exist.
  It was brave men throwing tea overboard into Boston Harbor, and 
protesting that taxation without representation is tyranny.
  The right of the people to peacefully assemble and petition their 
government for a redress of grievances, or protest, is guaranteed by 
the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.
  The 1968 Summer Olympics came on heels of much tragedy and social 
upheaval in the United States.
  The American people were reeling from the assassinations of Dr. 
Martin Luther King, Jr. and Sen. Robert F. Kennedy and there was 
growing discontent and opposition to the Vietnam War.
  In the lead-up to the Olympics, Tommie Smith and John Carlos helped 
organize the Olympic Project for Human Rights (OPHR), a group that 
reflected Black pride and social consciousness.
  The group saw the Olympic Games as an opportunity to agitate for 
better treatment of black athletes and black people around the world.
  Its demands included hiring more black coaches and rescinding Olympic 
invitations to Rhodesia and South Africa, both of which practiced 
apartheid.
  Although the OPHR initially proposed a boycott of the Olympics 
altogether, Tommie Smith and John Carlos decided to compete in the 
hopes they could use their achievements as a platform for broader 
change.
  Ten days before the opening of the Summer Games, an unarmed group of 
protesters assembled in Mexico City's Three Cultures Square to plan the 
next move of the growing Mexican students' movement.
  The Mexican government sent in bulldozers to disperse the thousands 
gathered, and troops fired into the crowd, slaughtering between four 
(the government's official count) and 3,000 students.
  John Carlos and Tommie Smith finished first and third in the 200-
meter dash final with times of 19.83 seconds and 20.10 seconds 
respectively, which at the time was a world record.
  Many people remember these names from their protest with raised, 
black-gloved fists to represent their solidarity and support with black 
people and oppressed people around the world.
  On the victory platform to receive their Gold and Bronze Medals, 
Tommie Smith and John Carlos also displayed other symbols of protest 
and strength: black-socked feet without shoes to bring attention to 
black poverty and beads to protest lynching.
  Although, the images of Tommie Smith and John Carlos have been 
engrained into the hearts and minds of generations we cannot ignore the 
third person that stood on the podium.
  Australian Peter Norman, the Silver Medalist, did not raise a fist 
covered by a black glove, but he too supported the protest in his own 
fashion.
  Peter Norman was a working-class boy from Melbourne, Australia, 
raised in a family who were devout members of the Salvation Army, an 
evangelical group connected with the charitable group better known to 
Americans, who shared the belief that all men were equal.

[[Page E1415]]

  The Australian also asked how he could support his fellow medalists, 
and they suggested he wear a badge for the Olympic Project for Human 
Rights.
  Peter Norman did not raise his fist, but by wearing the badge, he 
made his stance clear.
  After the protest, Tommie Smith and John Carlos were rushed from the 
stadium, suspended by the U.S. team, and kicked out of the Olympic 
Village for turning their medal ceremony into a political statement.
  They went home to the United States, only to face serious backlash, 
including death threats.
  However, Tommie Smith and John Carlos were both gradually re-accepted 
into the Olympic fold and went on to careers in professional football 
before retiring.
  Peter Norman, meanwhile, was punished severely by the Australian 
sports establishment.
  Though he qualified for the Olympic team repeatedly, posting the 
fastest times by far in Australia, he was snubbed by the team in 1972.
  Rather than allow Peter Norman to compete, the Australians did not 
send a sprinter at all.
  Peter Norman immediately retired from the sport and began to suffer 
from depression, alcoholism and a painkiller addiction.
  However, even though it cost him his career and much of his 
happiness, Peter Norman would have done it over again.
  Civil rights and more importantly human rights transcend party, 
state, and national boundaries.
  To quote the late Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. ``Injustice anywhere is 
a threat to justice everywhere. We are caught in an inescapable network 
of mutuality, tied in a single garment of destiny. Whatever affects one 
directly, affects all indirectly.''
  Today again, we see individuals being ostracized and denigrated for 
speaking out against injustice.
  Colin Kaepernick's career as a quarterback in the National Football 
League has suffered because of his courageous decision to peacefully 
protest the killing of unarmed black men by police officers in the form 
of taking a knee during the national anthem.
  NFL players enjoy the same rights guaranteed under the Constitution 
as every other American, including the right to petition their 
government for redress of grievances.
  Mr. Speaker, as we commemorate this historic day in history, we must 
continue to support our citizens who stand against injustices within 
our borders.
  I support the principles that Tommie Smith, Peter Norman, and John 
Carlos stood for 50 years ago.

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