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Kaepernick racial injustice protests divide the US opinion

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San Francisco 49ers backup quarterback Colin Kaepernick continues to divide opinion in the United States over him refusing to stand for the national anthem prior to...

San Francisco 49ers backup quarterback Colin Kaepernick continues to divide opinion in the United States over him refusing to stand for the national anthem prior to matches.

Kaepernick is protesting against what he has called racial injustice and police brutality in the country but former NFL quarterback-turned TV pundit Trent Dilfer recently suggested he should 'keep quiet and sit in the shadows because he's a backup'.

Kaepernick responded to the comment by saying: "That is the most ridiculous comment I have ever heard. The fact that you say, 'You're a back-up quarterback stay in your place, that's the issue. I mean, to me you're telling me that my position is a backup quarterback and being quiet is more important than people's lives. Now I would ask him to really have a conversation with the families of people that have been murdered and see if he still feels that way because I bet you he doesn't, just because he hasn't experienced that type of oppression."

Many other players have joined Kaepernick in his protest, some kneeling, some standing with their fists in the air - reminiscent of the raised-fist salute by black athletes Tommie Smith and John Carlos during their medal ceremony at the 1968 Olympic Games in Mexico City.

Carlos, now 71, backed Kaepernick and the others.

He said: "You know we didn't throw no bombs at nobody in '68. Colin didn't throw no bombs in 2016. Those guys standing up on the side or hugging one another, they ain't drop no bombs but what they are saying is 'hey man something is broken and it's time that we fixed this.' Not tomorrow, not next year, but start to fix it today and it's growing."

The protest has angered some fans, who see it as disrespectful to the nation while others see it as a welcome high-profile boost to the Black Lives Matter movement.

Whatever the opinion it does continue to provoke conversation on the topic, a conversation that is getting louder and louder and becoming global.

3 players for the Tennessee Titans raised Black Power fists in protest of American injustice. pic.twitter.com/podNVSVaQ7
- Shaun King (@ShaunKing) September 11, 2016

A better view of Kenny Stills, Michael Thomas, Arian Foster & Jelani Jenkins taking a knee for injustice in America. pic.twitter.com/MlYyuTVUhF
- Shaun King (@ShaunKing) September 11, 2016

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Kaepernick racial injustice protests divide US opinion

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San Francisco 49ers backup quarterback Colin Kaepernick continues to divide opinion in the United States over him refusing to stand for the national anthem prior to... San Francisco 49ers backup quarterback Colin Kaepernick continues to divide opinion in the United States over him refusing to stand for the national anthem prior to matches.

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The Black Power Mixtape 1967-1975 - Movie Trailer (2011) HD

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Lebron James on Colin Kaepernick's National Anthem Protest

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Lebron James tacked Colin's protest and shared why he will stand for the national anthem.

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Tommie Smith/John Carlos 2008 Arthur Ashe Courage Award Pt1

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During their medal ceremony in the Olympic Stadium in Mexico City on October 16, 1968, two African-American athletes, Tommie Smith and John Carlos, each raised a black-gloved fist during the playing of the US national anthem, " The Star-Spangled Banner". While on the podium, Smith and Carlos, who had won gold and bronze medals respectively in the 200-meter running event of the 1968 Summer Olympics, turned to face the US flag and then kept their hands raised until the anthem had finished. In addition, Smith, Carlos, and Australian silver medalist Peter Norman all wore human-rights badges on their jackets.

In his autobiography, Silent Gesture, published nearly 30 years later, Smith revised his statement that the gesture was not a " Black Power" salute per se, but rather a "human rights" salute. The demonstration is regarded as one of the most overtly political statements in the history of the modern Olympics.

On the morning of October 16, 1968, US athlete Tommie Smith won the 200 meter race with a world-record time of 19.83 seconds. Australia's Peter Norman finished second with a time of 20.06 seconds, and the US's John Carlos finished in third place with a time of 20.10 seconds. After the race was completed, the three went to the podium for their medals to be presented by David Cecil, 6th Marquess of Exeter. The two US athletes received their medals shoeless, but wearing black socks, to represent black poverty. Smith wore a black scarf around his neck to represent black pride, Carlos had his tracksuit top unzipped to show solidarity with all blue-collar workers in the US and wore a necklace of beads which he described "were for those individuals that were lynched, or killed and that no-one said a prayer for, that were hung and tarred. It was for those thrown off the side of the boats in the Middle Passage." All three athletes wore Olympic Project for Human Rights (OPHR) badges after Norman, a critic of Australia's former White Australia Policy, expressed empathy with their ideals. Sociologist Harry Edwards, the founder of the OPHR, had urged black athletes to boycott the games; reportedly, the actions of Smith and Carlos on October 16, 1968 were inspired by Edwards' arguments.

The famous picture of the event was taken by photographer John Dominis.

Both US athletes intended to bring black gloves to the event, but Carlos forgot his, leaving them in the Olympic Village. It was Peter Norman who suggested Carlos wear Smith's left-handed glove. For this reason, Carlos raised his left hand as opposed to his right, differing from the traditional Black Power salute. When The Star-Spangled Banner played, Smith and Carlos delivered the salute with heads bowed, a gesture which became front-page news around the world. As they left the podium they were booed by the crowd. Smith later said, "If I win, I am American, not a black American. But if I did something bad, then they would say I am a Negro. We are black and we are proud of being black. Black America will understand what we did tonight."

Tommie Smith stated in later years that "We were concerned about the lack of black assistant coaches. About how Muhammad Ali got stripped of his title. About the lack of access to good housing and our kids not being able to attend the top colleges."

International Olympic Committee (IOC) president Avery Brundage, himself an American, deemed it to be a domestic political statement unfit for the apolitical, international forum the Olympic Games were intended to be. In response to their actions, he ordered Smith and Carlos suspended from the US team and banned from the Olympic Village. When the US Olympic Committee refused, Brundage threatened to ban the entire US track team. This threat led to the expulsion of the two athletes from the Games. However, contrary to a common misconception, the IOC did not force Smith and Carlos to return their medals.

A spokesman for the IOC said Smith and Carlos's actions were "a deliberate and violent breach of the fundamental principles of the Olympic spirit." Brundage, who was president of the United States Olympic Committee in 1936, had made no objections against Nazi salutes during the Berlin Olympics. He argued that the Nazi salute, being a national salute at the time, was acceptable in a competition of nations, while the athletes' salute was not of a nation and therefore unacceptable.

Brundage had been accused of being one of the United States' most prominent Nazi sympathisers even after the outbreak of the Second World War, and his removal as president of the IOC had been one of the three stated objectives of the Olympic Project for Human Rights.

In 2013, the official IOC website stated that "Over and above winning medals, the black American athletes made names for themselves by an act of racial protest."

Smith and Carlos were largely ostracized by the US sporting establishment and they were subject to criticism. magazine on October 25, 1968, wrote: "'Faster, Higher, Stronger' is the motto of the Olympic Games. 'Angrier, nastier, uglier' better describes the scene in Mexico City last week." Back home, both Smith and Carlos were subject to abuse and they and their families received death threats. Brent Musburger, a writer for the Chicago American before rising to prominence at CBS Sports and ESPN, described Smith and Carlos as "a couple of black-skinned storm troopers" who were "ignoble," "juvenile," and "unimaginative."

Smith continued in athletics, playing in the NFL with the Cincinnati Bengals before becoming an assistant professor of physical education at Oberlin College. In 1995, he helped coach the US team at the World Indoor Championships at Barcelona. In 1999 he was awarded the California Black Sportsman of the Millennium Award. He is now a public speaker.

Carlos' career followed a similar path. He tied the 100 yard dash world record the following year. Carlos also tried professional football, was a 15th round selection in the 1970 NFL Draft, but a knee injury curtailed his tryout with the Philadelphia Eagles. He then went on to the Canadian Football League where he played one season for the Montreal Alouettes. He fell upon hard times in the late 1970s. In 1977, his ex-wife committed suicide, leading him to a period of depression. In 1982, Carlos worked with the Organizing Committee for the 1984 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles. In 1985, he became a track and field coach at Palm Springs High School. As of 2012, Carlos works as a counselor at the school.

Smith and Carlos received an Arthur Ashe Courage Award at the 2008 ESPY Awards honoring their action.

Silver-medalist Norman, who was sympathetic to his competitors' protest, was criticized by conservatives in the Australian media. His actions resulted in him being ostracized by Australian media and a reprimand by his country's Olympic authorities. He was not sent to the 1972 games, despite several times making the qualifying time, though opinion differ over whether that was due to the 1968 protest. When Australia hosted the 2000 Summer Olympics, he had no part in the opening ceremony, though the significance of that is also debated.

When Norman died in 2006, Smith and Carlos were pallbearers at his funeral.

In 2012, Australia formally apologized to Norman, with one MP telling Parliament that Norman's gesture "was a moment of heroism and humility that advanced international awareness of racial inequality."

Wayne Collett and Vincent Matthews were banned from the Olympics after they staged a similar protest at the 1972 games in Munich.

The 2008 Sydney Film Festival featured a documentary about the protest entitled . The film was written, directed and produced by Matt Norman, a nephew of Peter Norman.

On July 9, 2008, BBC Four broadcast a documentary, Black Power Salute, by Geoff Small, about the protest. In an article, Small noted that the athletes of the British team attending the 2008 Olympics in Beijing had been asked to sign gagging clauses which would have restricted their right to make political statements but that they had refused.

In a 2011 speech to the University of Guelph, Akaash Maharaj, a member of the Canadian Olympic Committee and head of Canada's Olympic equestrian team, said, "In that moment, Tommie Smith, Peter Norman, and John Carlos became the living embodiments of Olympic idealism. Ever since, they have been inspirations to generations of athletes like myself, who can only aspire to their example of putting principle before personal interest. It was their misfortune to be far greater human beings than the leaders of the IOC of the day."

In 2016, the National Museum of African American History and Culture in Washington, DC also features a statue to honor the athletes' tribute.

In 2005, San Jose State University honored former students Smith and Carlos with a 22-foot high statue of their protest titled Victory Salute, created by artist Rigo 23. A student, Erik Grotz, initiated the project; "One of my professors was talking about unsung heroes and he mentioned Tommie Smith and John Carlos. He said these men had done a courageous thing to advance civil rights, and, yet, they had never been honored by their own school." The statues are located in a central part of the campus at , next to Robert D. Clark Hall and Tower Hall.

Those who come to view the statue are allowed to participate by standing on the monument. Peter Norman is not included in the monument so viewers can be in his place; there is a plaque in the empty spot inviting those to "Take a Stand." Norman requested that his space was left empty so visitors could stand in his place and feel what he felt. The bronze figures are shoeless but there are two shoes included at the base of the monument. The right shoe, a bronze, blue Puma, is next to Carlos; while the left shoe is placed behind Smith. The signature of the artist is on the back of Smith's shoe, and the year 2005 is on Carlos's shoe.

The faces of the statues are realistic and emotional. "The statue is made of fiberglass stretched over steel supports with an exoskeleton of ceramic tiles." Rigo 23 used 3D scanning technology and computer-assisted virtual imaging to take full-body scans of the men. Their track pants and jackets are a mosaic of dark blue ceramic tiles while the stripes of the track suits are detailed in red and white.

In January 2007, History San Jose opened a new exhibit called Speed City: From Civil Rights to Black Power, covering the San Jose State athletic program "from which many student athletes became globally recognized figures as the Civil Rights and Black Power movements reshaped American society."

In Australia, an airbrush mural of the trio on the podium was painted in 2000 in the inner-city suburb of Newtown in Sydney. Silvio Offria, who allowed the mural to be painted on his house in Leamington Lane by an artist known only as "Donald," said that Norman, a short time before he died in 2006, came to see the mural. "He came and had his photo taken; he was very happy," he said. The monochrome tribute, captioned " THREE PROUD PEOPLE MEXICO 68," was under threat of demolition in 2010 to make way for a rail tunnel but is now listed as an item of heritage significance.

In the historically African-American neighborhood of West Oakland, California there was a large mural depicting Smith and Carlos on the corner of 12th Street and Mandela Parkway.

Above the life-sized depictions read "Born with insight, raised with a fist" ( Rage Against the Machine lyrics); previously it read "It only takes a pair of gloves." In early February 2015, the mural was razed.

The private lot was once a gas station, and the mural was on the outside wall of an abandoned building or shed. The owner wanted to pay respect to the men and the moment but also wanted a mural to prevent tagging. The State was monitoring water contamination levels at this site; the testing became within normal levels "so the state ordered the removal of the tanks, testing equipment, and demolition of the shed."

The song "Mr. John Carlos" by the Swedish group Nationalteatern on their 1974 album Livet är en fest is about the event and its aftermath.

The music video for Scritti Politti's 1984 single, " Wood Beez (Pray Like Aretha Franklin)", features several direct visual references to the 1968 protest.

Rage Against the Machine used a cropped photo of the salute on the cover art for the " Testify" single (2000). The image has both men wearing shoes.

The cover art for the single " HiiiPoWeR" (2011) by American rapper Kendrick Lamar features a cropped photo of the salute.

The song "Hoarse" (2013) by American rapper Earl Sweatshirt features the lines "pinnacle of titillating crispate, fists clenched, emulating '68 Olympics".

The music video for " The Story of O.J." (2017) by American rapper Jay-Z features a depiction of the protest.

The song "Shivers" by Peter Perrett, best known as the frontman of The Only Ones, features the lines "The torch of liberty, Tommie Smith's black glove".

The music video for " The Space Program" (2017) by American Hip-Hop group A Tribe Called Quest features Pharrell Williams imitating the salute.

The music video for " I Can't Breathe" (2018) by singer/songwriter Patrick Gannon features the salute and an interview with Tommie Smith at the end.

In 1972 Jackie Robinson reflected he could not stand again and sing the anthem like he did 20 years earlier. "I know that I am a black man in a white world." Similarly, Colin Kaepernick and others protested against police brutality and racism against African-Americans in the United States.

1. "1968: Black athletes make silent protest" (PDF). SJSU. Archived from the original (PDF) on December 18, 2008.

2. ^ Spander, Art (February 24, 2006). "A Moment In Time: Remembering an Olympic Protest". CSTV. Archived from the original on October 21, 2008.

3. ^ "The Olympic Story", editor James E. Churchill, Jr., published 1983 by Grolier Enterprises Inc.

4. ^ Documentary "Hitler's Pawn: The Margeret Lambert Story", produced by HBO and Black Canyon Productions

5. ^ Silent Gesture - Autobiography of Tommie Smith (excerpt via Google Books) - Smith, Tommie & Steele, David, Temple University Press, 2007, ISBN 978-1-59213-639-1

6. ^ Mexico 1968 (official International Olympic Committee website. Retrieved 30 June 2013.

7. ^ "The Olympics: Black Complaint". Time. October 25, 1968. "Faster, Higher, Stronger" is the motto of the Olympic Games. "Angrier, nastier, uglier" better describes the scene in Mexico City last week. There, in the same stadium from which 6,200 pigeons swooped skyward to signify the opening of the "Peace Olympics," Sprinters Tommie Smith and John Carlos, two disaffected black athletes from the US put on a public display of petulance that sparked one of the most unpleasant controversies in Olympic history and turned the high drama of the games into theater of the absurd.

8. Richard Sandomir, ^ Now on Film: Raised Fists And the Yogi Love Letters, The New York Times, August 6, 1999, accessed September 10, 2012.

9. ^ "Salute at ESPYs - Smith and Carlos to receive Arthur Ashe Courage Award". espn.com. 29 May 2008. Archived from the original on 5 April 2008.

10. ^ Flanagan, Martin (October 6, 2006). "Olympic protest heroes praise Norman's courage". The Sydney Morning Herald.

11. ^ Speech to the Ontario Equine Center at the University of Guelph, Akaash Maharaj, 27 May 2011

12. ^ "Part 2: John Carlos, 1968 U.S. Olympic Medalist, On the Response to His Iconic Black Power Salute". Democracy Now!. October 12, 2011. 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.

13. "Last stand for Newtown's 'three proud people'" by Josephine Tovey, The Sydney Morning Herald, 27 July 2010

14. ^ Heritage Assessment of the Three Proud People mural 2012 Archived October 2, 2013, at the Wayback Machine. (PDF). Retrieved on 13 June 2015.

15. ^ Baer, Bill. "Here's what Jackie Robinson had to say about the national anthem". NBC Sports.

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During their medal ceremony in the Olympic Stadium in Mexico City on October 16, 1968, two African-American athletes, Tommie Smith and John Carlos, each raised a black-gloved fist during the playing of the US national anthem, " The Star-Spangled Banner".

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National Anthem Protests by Black Athletes Have a Long History (Published 2017)

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The protests by African-American athletes date back decades, often angering mostly white fans and officials.

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Obama Rights Historic Racial Wrong For Olympic Heroes

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John Carlos, 1968 Olympic U.S. Medalist, on the Sports Moment That Changed The World. 1 of 2

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John Carlos & Tommie Smith Make a Stand with a Simple Pair of Gloves | Fashion Behind the Games

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Cet été, "l'Obs" revient sur les photos qui ont marqué l'histoire. A la une des journaux, dans les pages de nos livres d'école, voire arborées fièrement sur nos t-shirts, elles ont fait le tour du monde. Mais connaissez-vous l'histoire secrète de ces clichés mythiques ?

Un geste de défi

1968, année césure. Même si l'événement se veut apolitique, les Jeux olympiques de Mexico ne sont pas épargnés par la bourrasque de révolte qui souffle alors. Sur cette photo, restée gravée dans les esprits, deux des trois gagnants de la très prisée épreuve du 200 mètres brandissent un poing ganté de noir, les yeux rivés vers le sol.

Il s'agit de Tommie Smith et de John Carlos, respectivement premier et troisième, qui s'érigent ce jour-là contre le racisme et l'exclusion dont sont toujours victimes les afro-américains aux Etats-Unis. Le geste en soi peut sembler banal. Mais ce 17 octobre 1968, les deux athlètes défient leur pays et la bienséance des Jeux sous les caméras du monde entier, par ce triomphe honteux et accusatoire. Le scandale sera immédiat, et les sanctions aussi cinglantes que l'écho.

(Anonymous/AP/SIPA)
"Dénoncer l'injustice"

La ségrégation, théoriquement abolie en 1964 par le Civil Rights Act, est encore bien présente dans les mentalités en 1968. L'intolérance et les crimes racistes empoisonnent toujours l'intégration de la communauté noire : le 4 avril, soit cinq mois avant les JO, Martin Luther King est assassiné, et une énième vague d'émeutes embrase le pays qui semble éternellement promis à la violence. Il y a une quarantaine de morts.

Tommie Smith et John Carlos, s'ils n'appartiennent pas de fait à l'un des groupes du Black Power, en deviennent les emblèmes. Ce fameux poing levé, ceint de noir, est en fait l'apanage d'une des formations les plus actives et radicales de l'époque, le Black Panther Party. Et si c'est ce geste qui laissera l'opinion bouche bée, les athlètes ne s'en sont pas contentés. Leur regard, qui se détourne du drapeau américain pendant que l'hymne national retentit fièrement, guide le nôtre vers leurs pieds drapés de longues chaussettes noires.

Ceci, énoncera Tommie Smith, "n'a d'autre but que de dénoncer la pauvreté des noirs américains". Pareillement, le foulard qu'il porte ainsi que le maillot ouvert de son camarade John Carlos sont des références explicites au lynchage et l'esclavage des leurs. Un asservissement dont les chaînes jugulent encore la liberté des afro-américains.

Un impact instantané

Ce moment, figé par le photographe John Dominis, ne laisse pas apparaître l'incroyable agitation qui s'ensuit. Car l'effet escompté ne se fait pas attendre. Les audacieux coureurs viennent, en un instant, de clamer en silence la souffrance et l'injustice séculaires de tout un peuple, sous les yeux du monde entier. La foule hurle, crache, les organisateurs hoquètent.

Insultes et menaces fusent, mais un vent d'espoir, qui mugit plus fort encore, souffle à nouveau pour la communauté noire. Le lendemain, trois autres vainqueurs afro-américains du 400 mètres, Lee Evans, Larry James et Ron Freeman, se présenteront sur les marches du podium avec un béret noir, autre référence à l'injustice qui persiste.

(AP/SIPA)

Tommie Smith et John Carlos sont aussitôt sanctionnés

Le poing levé de Tommie Smith et de John Carlos, leur vaut de passer du statut de star à celui de paria. Leur punition est impitoyable. Dès le lendemain, ils sont bannis du village olympique par le président des jeux, L'Américain Avery Brundage. Celui-ci est intraitable en ce qui concerne l'immixtion du politique au sein de la plus grande compétition sportive.

Leurs carrières de sprinteurs prennent aussitôt fin: d'abord suspendus temporairement, ils sont ensuite interdits de compétition à vie. Tommie Smith vient pourtant d'établir un nouveau record du monde. Il a parcouru les 200 mètres en 19,83 secondes. Une telle célérité ne sera jamais surpassée avant 1979, et 1984 dans le cadre des Jeux olympiques.

Du podium à l'enfer

Les choses empirent après 1968. Boycottés par les médias, les deux héros honnis voient leur quotidien se dégrader. Eux et leurs familles reçoivent quotidiennement des menaces de mort. Smith se fait tout bonnement "virer" de son emploi de laveur de voitures. Trouver un autre emploi s'avère quasi-impossible. Même l'armée lui refuse son entrée. Sa femme divorce, alors que les poches du médaillé d'or sont vides de toute pièce. John Carlos subit le même sort: il reste sans aucun travail, sa femme finit par se suicider.

Il faudra attendre la fin des années 80 pour que le monde daigne reconnaître leur action, et esquisser un geste de pardon. Leur courage ne sera véritablement honoré que dans les années 90-2000.

Le "troisième homme", acteur à part entière

Si l'attention s'est portée de fait sur la mutique provocation des deux afro-américains, ce sont pourtant trois hommes qui se dressent sur le podium photographié par John Dominis. Ce troisième, c'est l'Australien Peter Norman, qui a doublé Carlos dans les derniers mètres. Et contrairement à ce que sa posture conventionnelle laisse à penser, il est un acteur à part entière de la scène.

L'idée est bien celle de Tommie Smith. Mais c'est en l'entendant converser avec John Carlos que l'Australien propose de rallier leur cause, estimant que ce combat "est aussi celui de l'Australie blanche". Ceux-ci lui demandent s'il "croit aux droits de l'homme" et "en dieu". Norman acquiesce, et se munit du badge de "l'Olympic project for humans rights" qu'arborent d'autres sportifs noirs. On l'aperçoit nettement sur le cliché. C'est même lui qui suggérera que Smith et Carlos se partagent une seule paire de gants, le second ayant oublié sa paire.

Aussi, si Peter Norman jouit d'une moindre aura que de ses camarades - avec qui il restera lié pour la vie, sa bravoure est tout aussi exemplaire. Respectueux d'une lutte qui le dépasse, il fera quand même les frais de sa discrète audace. Il ne sera certes pas exclu du village olympique le lendemain. Il ne sera pas non plus explicitement renié par la fédération australienne, qui lui laissera l'espoir d'un avenir d'athlète.

Quentin Sedillo Lire aussi : L'icône du tsunami : le destin d'une mère... et d'une photo Churchill, Roosevelt et Staline à Yalta : mais où est donc de Gaulle ? Le Che, guerrier héroïque : comment une photo finit sur nos t-shirts "La fillette et le vautour" : le photographe sur le banc des accusés (STRINGER/AP/SIPA)
Mais à défaut d'être lynché par l'opinion, il est privé des jeux de 1972 par les autorités, malgré sa qualification et ses performances irréprochables. Obtenir une médaille d'or est un songe désormais lointain, balayé pour des raisons obscures. Peter Norman retourne à son ancien travail d'enseignant, qu'il perdra quelque temps après pour des raisons tout aussi vagues. A nouveau, un rêve est brisé, pour le soutien d'un homme à celui de milliers d'autres, qui n'aspirent pourtant qu'à l'égalité des droits. En 2000, 32 ans après le coup d'éclat de Mexico, les autorités sportives de son pays lui dédaignent encore l'accès aux jeux de Sydney.

Il meurt d'une crise cardiaque en 2006. Tommie Smith et John Carlos, alors réhabilités, font immédiatement voyage vers Melbourne, pour acheminer le cercueil de leur défunt camarade.

Il n'auront de cesse de louer la noblesse du "seul sportif blanc qui eut assez de cran" pour donner à leur geste sa portée véritable, universel et rassembleur. John Carlos déclarera lors de l'inhumation: "Je pensais voir la crainte dans ses yeux. J'y vis l'amour".

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JO de 1968 : deux poings levés... et un troisième homme, acteur lui aussi

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Cet été, "l'Obs" revient sur les photos qui ont marqué l'histoire. A la une des journaux, dans les pages de nos livres d'école, voire arborées fièrement sur nos t-shirts, elles ont fait le tour du monde. Mais connaissez-vous l'histoire secrète de ces clichés mythiques ? Un geste de défi 1968, année césure.

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Le footballeur Colin Kaepernick, nouveau visage de Nike

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On This Day in 1968: The Black Power Salute | Olympics

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THE STATUE

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Perhaps no image from the 1968 Summer Olympics in Mexico City is more recognizable than the silent protest of Tommie Smith and John Carlos on the Olympic medalist podium. During the award ceremony, Smith and Carlos, gold and bronze medalists in the 200-meter track event, raised their black-gloved fists in a black power salute, and removed their shoes to symbolize black poverty.

The African-American athletes intended to draw global attention to the plight of people of color in the U.S., spotlighting the injustice and inequality endured by millions of black Americans.

At the time, the political gesture was criticized and even booed by some of the crowd at the stadium. Back in the U.S., Smith and Carlos were ostracized from the sporting establishment, subject to widespread criticism and abuse, and received death threats. But like the movement they came to represent, the protesters persevered. Both Smith and Carlos went on to have successful careers in the NFL and later in teaching and community work.

In 2005, Tommie Smith and John Carlos were honored by their alma mater, San Jose State University, with a sculpture depicting their famous gesture. Rigo 23, a Portuguese-born artist often associated with the Black Power and equal rights movements, constructed the piece in the center of the San Jose State University campus.

The statue stands at 22 feet tall, and notably lacks Australian second place medalist Peter Norman. (It was Norman who suggested that Smith and Carlos share the black gloves used in their salute after Carlos left his pair in the Olympic Village. This is the reason for Smith raising his right fist, while Carlos raised his left.) While Norman stood in solidarity with Smith and Carlos (and suffered back in his native Australia because of it) he declined to be depicted in the installation shortly before his death in 2006. This allows visitors to stand in his spot on the podium, in solidarity with the civil rights movement for years to come.

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This Statue Honors a Controversial Olympic Black Power Protest

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Perhaps no image from the 1968 Summer Olympics in Mexico City is more recognizable than the silent protest of Tommie Smith and John Carlos on the Olympic medalist podium. During the award ceremony, Smith and Carlos, gold and bronze medalists in the 200-meter track event, raised their black-gloved fists in a black power salute, and removed their shoes to symbolize black poverty.

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Colin Kaepernick/Twitter

Colin Kaepernick has had one heck of a year as the NFL's most outspoken activist.

He joins a list of athletes who have used their platform for change, among them 1968 Olympians and activists John Carlos and Tommie Smith.

Carlos and Smith are known for giving the Black Power salute after winning the gold and bronze medals respectively in the men's 200-meter race. Their award-ceremony photo has now become an iconic image.

The former San Francisco 49er got the opportunity to sit down with Smith and Carlos recently, and shared his admiration for the men on Twitter.

"l had the honor of sitting down w John Carlos & Tommie Smith," Kaepernick wrote. "l have admired & emulated them, raising my as both a symbol of celebrating my Blackness & acknowledging our connected struggles. Hearing them tell their stories, all I could do was listen & soak in the elders wisdom."

l had the honor of sitting down w John Carlos & Tommie Smith.l have admired&emulated them,raising my ✊🏾 as both a symbol of celebrating my Blackness&acknowledging our connected struggles.Hearing them tell their stories, all I️ could do was listen&soak in the elders wisdom. pic.twitter.com/MHBeNwJbvH
- Colin Kaepernick (@Kaepernick7) November 15, 2017

Kaepernick was recently named GQ's Citizen of the Year for his activism and many of his friends and peers, including Ava DuVernay and J. Cole, shared stories about the athlete. His protest of the national anthem has sparked conversation around the role of athletes in activism and brought more attention to the systemic injustice Black people face in America.

Linda Sarsour, co-organizer of the Women's March on Washington and former executive director of the Arab American Association of New York, told the publication, "I always tell Colin: 'You are an American hero. You may not feel like a hero right now, but one day, people will realize the sacrifices that you made for so many others.' There might even be a day when we'll be walking down Colin Kaepernick Boulevard and people will remember what Colin Kaepernick did, just like we remember Muhammad Ali. And I truly believe that in my heart."

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Colin Kaepernick Shares Memorable Moment With Iconic Olympians Tommie Smith And John Carlos- Essence

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Colin Kaepernick/Twitter Colin Kaepernick has had one heck of a year as the NFL's most outspoken activist. He joins a list of athletes who have used their platform for change, among them 1968 Olympians and activists John Carlos and Tommie Smith.

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the third man: the forgotten black power hero - cnn

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The third man: The forgotten Black Power hero - CNN

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It is perhaps the most iconic sports photograph ever taken.

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2016, Kaepernick à genou

Lorsque le 26 août dernier, le quarterback des 49ers Colin Kaepernick s'agenouille pendant l'hymne national, la nation est une nouvelle fois divisée. D'un côté une grande majorité des blancs qui se sentent offensés dans leur âme de patriotes, et de l'autre, les noirs qui approuvent ce geste condamnant les conditions des noirs. Devenu un vrai paria dans un pays qui se préparait à élire Donald Trump, Kaepernick a sans doute été inspiré par d'autres sportifs qui ont connu un sort similaire.

1968, les JO, les poings levés

S'il fallait retenir une image, une inspiration, pour illustrer cette lutte des noirs américains, l'histoire retiendrait assurément celle des JO de Mexico. Sur leur podium, les sprinteurs Tommie Smith et John Carlos serrent leur poing tendu vers le ciel. Sympathisants des Blacks Panthers, ils dénoncent la ségrégation raciale qui sévit dans leur pays. Suspendus et renvoyés chez eux par leur propre Comité olympique, non sans une certaine pression du Comité international olympique, les deux athlètes restent aujourd'hui encore des exemples pour leur cause.

1972, l'histoire se répète

Quatre ans plus tard, les images sont moins connues mais pourtant... Vince Matthews et Wayne Collett montent sur leur podium du 400 m. Les visages de certains membres du CIO se crispent. Les premières notes de The Star-Spangled Banner retentissent dans le stade olympique et les deux athlètes tournent le dos au drapeau américain, les mains sur les hanches. Ils sortent sous les huées. Le lendemain, les deux " rebelles " sont exclus à vie des JO pour avoir eu le tort de dénoncer ostensiblement la discrimination raciale qui perdure Outre-Atlantique.

1973, un athlète se couche sur la piste

Alors que l'hymne national est joué, au moins un des jeunes athlètes de l'Eastern Michigan University reste allongé au sol. Les nombreux spectateurs finissent par huer l'étudiant et l'équipe est alors disqualifiée.
A quelques jours d'intervalle, le directeur du Madison Square Garden décide de ne pas diffuser l'hymne lors d'une rencontre d'athlétisme, expliquant que " son objectif et sa pertinence lors des événements sportifs n'a jamais été établie ". Le comité olympique américain ayant reçu un déluge de protestations, l'idée de ne pas jouer le sacro-saint hymne, est finalement abandonnée dès le lendemain.

1996, une prière en silence

En mars 1996, le basketteur Mahmoud Abdul-Rauf est suspendu un match. Le joueur des Denver Nuggets a en effet refusé de se redresser lors de l'hymne national. Converti à l'islam cinq ans plus tôt, Abdul-Rauf qui se nommait autrefois Chris Jackson, explique qu'il ne croit pas à une idéologie nationaliste. Elu Most Improved Player en 1993, cet excellent attaquant parvient à convaincre les dirigeants de la NBA de pouvoir fermer les yeux pendant l'hymne et de prier en silence.

Tous unis...

Depuis l'insulte proférée par Donald Trump à l'égard des joueurs de NFL qui ne respectent pas le drapeau national, le monde du sport américain s'est uni. Joueurs, dirigeants et fans, ont ouvertement critiqué la prise de position du président Trump. Mais à ce jour, Colin Kaepernick, celui qui avait osé mettre un genou à terre un an plus tôt, reste sans équipe.

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La longue lutte des athlètes noirs américains

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Lorsque le 26 août dernier, le quarterback des 49ers Colin Kaepernick s'agenouille pendant l'hymne national, la nation est une nouvelle fois divisée. D'un côté une grande majorité des blancs qui se sentent offensés dans leur âme de patriotes, et de l'autre, les noirs qui approuvent ce geste condamnant les conditions des noirs.

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Photo illustration by Slate. Photos by Ben Margot/AP Images, AFP/Getty Images.

Forty-eight years ago, in the stands at the Mexico City Olympics, I felt a twinge of disappointment when Tommie Smith and John Carlos raised black-gloved fists on the medal podium as "The Star-Spangled Banner" played over the stadium PA. Is that all there is, I thought? It seemed such a mild gesture in a year of riot and murder.

That gesture turned out, of course, to be one of the defining moments in American sports, if not the '60s. Responding to what it saw as a challenge to authority, the U.S. Olympic Committee drove Smith and Carlos out of Mexico, and the sports establishment back home made sure their careers as athletes and coaches were crushed.

San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick's decision to sit for the national anthem these past few preseason NFL games seems at first another mild gesture in a turbulent time, something of a stealth move for a quarterback who ostentatiously kisses the "To God the Glory" tattoo on his right bicep after a touchdown.

It also represents the boldest display of athletic activism since that 1968 black-power salute in Mexico, especially considering Kaepernick's subsequent manifesto. "I am not going to stand up to show pride in a flag for a country that oppresses black people and people of color," he said on Friday. "To me, this is bigger than football and it would be selfish on my part to look the other way. There are bodies in the street and people getting paid leave and getting away with murder."

The response on Twitter and Facebook has been mixed, much of it harsh even from other players. Kaepernick, coming off injuries and mediocre stats, will likely start the season as the 49ers' backup quarterback, if he's on the roster at all. In a league with its share of Trump-ish dumb white men, some of them owners, he risks his career, as did Smith and Carlos. On the other hand, for younger fans, an athlete who is not politically engaged with the major issues of our day may have no relevance. Why buy his shoes?

The Olympians and the quarterback aren't just connected by the national anthem. Harry Edwards, the former sociology professor who mentored Smith and Carlos in 1968, has been a longtime adviser to the 49ers. Edwards, rarely shy but ever crafty, told me on Monday he didn't want to talk about his involvement with Kaepernick right now because "I do not want to take any of the spotlight away from Kaep or to get out in front of the 49ers organization and [Coach] Chip Kelly on this issue."

In Sportsworld, maybe you need to sit out the anthem to get white people to pay attention to racial discrimination.

Edwards' prediction over the past few years that activism would return to the arena sometimes sounded like the lonesome cry of a '60s-era relic, an old athletic revolutionary fighting a losing battle in the Michael Jordan era of shoe sales being as much a gauge of winning as championship rings. Jordan's alleged, possibly apocryphal dismissal of a request to support a progressive black candidate against a racist-"Republicans buy sneakers, too"-was applauded as pragmatism as much as it was derided as selfish greed.

Activism never gained mainstream traction in Sportsworld, but it also never stopped. Many recent battles-including the former UCLA basketball player Ed O'Bannon's antitrust suit against the NCAA rule prohibiting schools from compensating athletes for use of their images, as well as the attempt by a group of former Northwestern University students to form a collegiate athletes' union-have been about fairness in the marketplace. But more and more protests have centered around issues outside the arena. The Phoenix Suns wore "Los Suns" jerseys to protest Arizona's immigration policies, and the Miami Heat wore hoodies to protest the killing of Florida teenager Trayvon Martin. The NBA has always been the coolest, most progressive league.

The first real signs of a Jock Spring-setting the stage, according to longtime activist Richard Lapchick, for Kaepernick's sit-down-cropped up last month. A startling, half-century-old black-and-white photograph appeared on Carmelo Anthony's Instagram page. A dozen young black athletes in suits and ties posed at a summit meeting of stars. The front row was a sports Mount Rushmore: Bill Russell, Jim Brown, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, and Muhammad Ali, whose banishment from boxing they had come to protest.

Anthony's attached message called on:

all my fellow ATHLETES to step up and take charge. Go to your local officials, leaders, congressman, assemblymen/assemblywoman and demand change. There's NO more sitting back and being afraid of tackling and addressing political issues anymore. Those days are long gone. We have to step up and take charge. We can't worry about what endorsements we gonna lose or whose going to look at us crazy. I need your voices to be heard. We can demand change.

From Anthony, the Knicks' superstar best known for hogging the ball, it was a powerful statement. A few days later, he joined fellow NBA stars Dwyane Wade, Chris Paul, and LeBron James to open ESPN's annual self-congratulatory ESPYs awards show. It was a contemporary summit. LeBron declared:

It's not about being a role model, it's not about our responsibility to the tradition of activism. I know tonight we're honoring Muhammad Ali, the GOAT [greatest of all time], but to do his legacy any justice, let's use this moment as call to action for all professional athletes to educate ourselves, explore these issues, speak up, use our influence, and renounce all violence.

Even Jordan was moved to make a statement supporting the Black Lives Matter movement and decrying violence, including the murder of police officers. He donated $1 million each to the NAACP Legal Defense Fund and the International Association of Chiefs of Police's Institute for Community-Police Relations. Skeptics might snark that cops buy sneakers, too, but it resonated as a positive gesture.

At the moment, all we have are gestures. The NBA stars didn't exactly offer a playbook, and we'll have to wait to see where "use our influence" leads. Will a pro basketball team refuse to play until a cop who shot an unarmed black kid in its city is indicted?

Kaepernick is a bit vague on action details, too. He said:

People don't realize what's really going on in this country. There are a lot of things that are going on that are unjust. People aren't being held accountable for. And that's something that needs to change. That's something that this country stands for: freedom, liberty, and justice for all. And it's not happening for all right now.

Splendid words, but only words and a gesture at the moment, not exactly standing in front of a tank on Tiananmen Square. But in this distracted Sportsworld, maybe you need to sit out the anthem to get white people-especially the white teammates whose support will be crucial-to pay attention to racial discrimination. Kaepernick is no reigning superstar like the NBA four, glamorous heroes in a black league, and he's being daringly confrontational for a man so vulnerable in his job. I hope Kaepernick has learned from Professor Edwards about the steep price Smith and Carlos paid for raising their fists. Kaepernick should know just how determined the other team's defense can be.

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Colin Kaepernick's Anthem Sit-Down Is the Most Important Gesture by an Athlete Since the 1960s

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Forty-eight years ago, in the stands at the Mexico City Olympics, I felt a twinge of disappointment when Tommie Smith and John Carlos raised black-gloved fists on the medal podium as "The Star-Spangled Banner" played over the stadium PA. Is that all there is, I thought?