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The white guy in the iconic 1968 photo of two black USA Olympians w/ raised fists

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J

Joe

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pSdYABt.jpg


http://sfglobe.com/2015/12/07/white-man-in-the-photo-is-the-third-hero-that-night-in-1968/
Sometimes photographs deceive. Take this one, for example. It represents John Carlos and Tommie Smith’s rebellious gesture the day they won medals for the 200 meters at the 1968 Summer Olympics in Mexico City, and it certainly deceived me for a long time.

I always saw the photo as a powerful image of two barefoot black men, with their heads bowed, their black-gloved fists in the air while the US National Anthem, “The Star-Spangled Banner,” played. It was a strong symbolic gesture – taking a stand for African American civil rights in a year of tragedies that included the death of Martin Luther King and Bobby Kennedy.

It’s a historic photo of two men of color. For this reason I never really paid attention to the other man, white, like me, motionless on the second step of the medal podium. I considered him a random presence, an extra in Carlos and Smith’s moment, or a kind of intruder. Actually, I even thought that that guy – who seemed to be just a simpering Englishman – represented, in his icy immobility, the will to resist the change that Smith and Carlos were invoking in their silent protest. But I was wrong.
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Click the link to read the rest. It's quick, easy, and powerful.
 
R

Raist

Banned
“I couldn’t see why a black man couldn’t drink the same water from a water fountain, take the same bus or go to the same school as a white man.

There was a social injustice that I couldn’t do anything about from where I was, but I certainly hated it.

It has been said that sharing my silver medal with that incident on the victory dais detracted from my performance.

On the contrary.

I have to confess, "I was rather proud to be part of it.”
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Dem feels.
 
A

Always-honest

Banned
Yeah great story.
He had quite the shitty life because of his actions (because the world is fucked up) but not one regret.

Them dudes carried his coffin.
 
P

Prompto

Banned
a Master Ninja said:
Sounds like they should update that statue.
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Someone posted this in the comments:

I have no idea if it is true, but according to the Wikipedia page (The entry on Black Power Salute). The statue excluded Norman at his own request because Norman wanted people to stand on that podium themselves and "feel what he felt". If true, that is incredibly powerful.
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S

SliceSabre

Banned
Pizarro said:
Pretty old news. Do people really not get curious about the white guy in the pic?
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I know I never cared about him until recently, and hell like the author says I almost viewed him as a sort of representation of how evil whites were to blacks back then.
 
K

kiguel182

Member
That's an amazing read. It's awful that his country treated him like that and most people just see him "that white dude" there. I didn't even imagined he was supporting them.

Thanks for sharing.
 
J

jerry1594

Member
thebeeks said:
My first thought too, but sometimes I have to remember not everyone else is an Olympics nerd.
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I don't care about the olympics either, it's just an iconic picture, and after looking up John Carlos and Tommie Smith I wondered what Peter Norman's reaction to the gesture was. It caught me off guard that he would just be the white guy in the pic.
 
M

Murkas

Member
Yeah I read about this story some months back, think it was a TYT video?

Just think about it, Australia only recognised him 4 years ago, 2012! 44 years after.
 
S

sqwarlock

Member
Unrelated, but is there a way to hide the awful recommend articles sidebar on that site? Clickbait and stock photos kind of take away from the message a bit.
 
B

besada

Banned
I always wondered why one put up his right hand and the other his left. Now I know. Thanks OP, for the interesting and informative article.
 
H

helloresolven

Member
Prompto said:
Someone posted this in the comments:
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http://www.democracynow.org/2011/10...the_response_to_his_iconic_black_power_salute
JOHN CARLOS: Yeah, "Blimey, John. You’re calling me with these blimey questions here?" And I said to him, I said, "Pete, I have a concern, man. What’s this about you don’t want to have your statue there? What, are you backing away from me? Are you ashamed of us?" And he laughed, and he said, "No, John." He said—you know, the deep thing is, he said, "Man, I didn’t do what you guys did." He said, "But I was there in heart and soul to support what you did. I feel it’s only fair that you guys go on and have your statues built there, and I would like to have a blank spot there and have a commemorative plaque stating that I was in that spot. But anyone that comes thereafter from around the world and going to San Jose State that support the movement, what you guys had in ’68, they could stand in my spot and take the picture." And I think that’s the largest thing any man would ever do. And as I said, I don’t think that my co-partner, my co-heart, Tommie Smith, would have done what Peter Norman done in that regards. He was just a tremendous individual.
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T

thebeeks

Banned
Pizarro said:
I don't care about the olympics either, it's just an iconic picture, and after looking up John Carlos and Tommie Smith I wondered what Peter Norman's reaction to the gesture was. It caught me off guard that he would just be the white guy in the pic.
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Sorry, I meant to imply that I'm the Olympics nerd, and yeah I had the same thought the first time I saw the footage.
"I wonder what's going on in that guy's head?"

johancruijff said:
http://salutethemovie.com/

there's a documentary movie made by his nephew, Matt Norman
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Ooooooh, thanks for the heads up!
 
O

Orbis Tabula

Member
besada said:
I always wondered why one put up his right hand and the other his left. Now I know. Thanks OP, for the interesting and informative article.
Click to expand...

Yeah, that was a neat piece of info. So much in that picture I never noticed, but I'll be sure to appreciate it now. Thanks OP.
 
G

GrantDaNasty

Member
I've heard a short summary of this story before, but reading about it in the article, going into the details of it..once I got to the part where it mentions his funeral where Carlos and Smith were pallbearers, honouring his noble deed and his commitment to never apologize for doing the right thing..brought tears to my eyes.

Peter Norman, the real-life equivalent of the Boss from MGS 3. A hero the world never acknowledged.
 
M

Muppet of a Man

Member
Man, it was really touching seeing John and Tommie being his pallbearers after being ostracized for the rest of his life by his homeland like that.
 
R

RS4-

Member
That was a great read, and sad to hear that he never got treated well even up until his death.

And that bit about the statue, amazing.
 
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