I watched this great doc over the weekend and highly recommend you see it as well! It’s called Salute, and it’s about the 3 men who won gold, silver and bronze in the 200 meter race in the 1968 Olympics. At that time in the world there was a lot of race discrimination, esp in America. It was the year Martin Luther King was assassinated. The American track and field team was the best in the world and the top athletes were black. Because of tensions in America, the black players originally planned to boycott the games but then relented, some vowing to make a statement in the event they won. The two men with raised fists are – Tommy Smith (gold) and John Carlos (bronze). An Australian named Peter Norman won Silver. He was moved by the struggles of black America and witnessed similar injustices against the aborigines in his own country. The 2 men discussed what they were planning to do in front of Norman, he gave them his support and borrowed a Human Rights badge in honor of their stance. Their decision to make a statement upon accepting their medals would change their lives irrevocably. All though the closed fist raised up is a symbol of unity, it was misconstrued as a militant symbol of black power. All 3 men were stripped of their medals and barred from the Olympics. Even though they broke records with their running, they were erased from the history books. Smith & Carlos esp falling on hard times. But the 3 men had between them a very strong and special bond that was greater than any material accolades they could have had. It’s a moving story, and politically intense. A gesture that needed to happen to bring 3 men together. Here’s the trailer! oxo gd
