An Olympic Story Not Taught in Schools

By Dave Zirin

Sports editor for The Nation, host of Edge of Sports, and co-author of The John Carlos Story plus several others 

PHOTO ABOVE-LEFT: The Olympic Project for Human Rights badge, worn by activist athletes in the 1968 Olympic Games, originally called for a boycott of the 1968 Olympic Games. PHOTO ABOVE-RIGHT: This iconic photo appears in many U.S. history textbooks, stripped of the story of the planned boycott and demands, creating the appearance of a solitary act of defiance.

It has been almost 44 years since Tommie Smith and John Carlos took the medal stand following the 200-meter dash at the 1968 Olympics in Mexico City and created what must be considered the most enduring, riveting image in the history of either sports or protest. But while the image has stood the test of time, the struggle that led to that moment has been cast aside.

When mentioned at all in U.S. history textbooks, the famous photo appears with almost no context... The media---- and school curricula---- fail to address the context that produced Smith and Carlos' famous gesture of resistance: It was the product of what was called "The Revolt of the Black Athlete." Amateur black athletes formed OPHR, the Olympic Project for Human Rights, to organize an African American boycott of the 1968 Olympic Games. Read more.  

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More on the 1968 Olympics at the Zinn Education Project website

	Not Just a Game: Power, Politics & American Sports. Film. By Dave Zirin and Jeremy Earp. Film documentary for 6th grade to adult based on the bestselling book A People's History of Sports in the United States.
	Elegy for Peter Norman. Poem by Josh Healey. Poem in text and audio about Peter Norman, the white athlete in the iconic photo of the '68 Olympics.
	The John Carlos Story: The Sports Moment That Changed the World. Book - Non-fiction. By John Carlos and Dave Zirin. Written for grades 7+, this biography of John Carlos recounts his childhood, his legendary act of courage at the '68 Olympics, and the backlash.
	A People's History of Sports in the United States. Book - Non-fiction. By Dave Zirin. U.S. history through the lens of sports.