(AURN News) — On Oct. 16, 1968, American sprinters Tommie Smith and John Carlos made history at the Mexico City Olympics.
After winning gold and bronze medals, respectively, in the 200-meter dash, Smith and Carlos raised black-gloved fists during the national anthem to protest racial injustice and poverty in America.
International Olympic Committee President Avery Brundage condemned the protest as an inappropriate political demonstration and pressured U.S. Olympic officials to punish the athletes. Both athletes were suspended from the U.S. Olympic team and ordered to leave the Olympic Village following their protest.
The image of their courageous stand became an enduring symbol of the civil rights movement.
Smith later played professional football with the Cincinnati Bengals before becoming a college professor and track coach. Carlos also pursued professional football, trying out for the Philadelphia Eagles before playing in the Canadian Football League. He later became a high school counselor and track and field coach.
In 2008, Smith and Carlos received the Arthur Ashe Courage Award at the ESPY Awards in recognition of their historic protest.
Twenty-seven years later, on Oct. 16, 1995, another historic moment unfolded as hundreds of thousands of Black men gathered on the National Mall in Washington for the Million Man March.
Organized by Nation of Islam leader Louis Farrakhan, the gathering called for Black unity, personal accountability, family responsibility and community empowerment.
Attendance estimates varied widely, with the National Park Service estimating 400,000 and Boston University researchers putting the crowd at approximately 837,000.
Both the Olympic protest and the Million Man March remain defining moments in African American history.
