1968 Black Salute
During the 1968 summer Olympic Games the most remembered part is surprisingly not a sporting event but the medal ceremony for the track athletes. After finishing with the gold, Tommie Smith, and bronze winner John Carlos made a silent protest known as the “Black Salute”. The two men would soon become the “hot topic” for years to come. Bleacher report said, “It is one of the most iconic moments in the history of sport” (p.1). Smith and Carlos stood up for what they believed in and protested for the black race in America. These two men because of the protest are now known transcendentalists because they were nonconformists, they took risks, and proposed self reliance and self trust.
Tommie Smith and John Carlos were nonconformists due to the way they went about their business, while others would have just sat back and waited for things to happen Smith and Carlos took matters into their own hands and protested for the entire black race. After Smith won the gold of the olympic 200 meter dash and his buddy Carlos won the bronze the two men did the unthinkable.The two men received their medals shoeless wearing black socks. Smith was wearing a black scarf to represent black pride, while Carlos unzipped his track suit jacket which was an olympic violation. Carlos also wore a beaded necklace to represent the many black individuals that were lynched and nobody even prayed for them. The two both wore a black glove on a single hand, Smith wore one on his right and Carlos wore his on his left. When the star spangled banner began to play the two men raised their arms and bowed their heads in an effort to show the poverty of blacks and to try to gain an equal chance of being a human being. Australian silver medalist winner, Peter Norman also participated in the protest wearing a humans right badge on his jacket. The individuals were later booed when exiting the podium (“1968 Olympics” p.3 ). Smith later went on to say, “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” (“Sports in black and white” p.5). These men knew that if they won people would look at them as an American but even when they did people saw the negatives and immediately turned on them after sticking up for what they believed in. In doing this the men showed that not acting like everyone else and making a stand can make a bigger impact that anyone could have expected. Being the nonconformists that they are, Smith and Carlos knew that many would disagree but they did not care and took a chance and in return the black community eventually with the help of these two men gained the respect that they deserve. They took a gigantic risk in doing so but it went the way that they expected.
Another reason why these men were transcendentalists was because of the risks they took. Going into the event these men knew that there would be consequences for their actions but knew that the larger picture was a lot better. After the protest the Olympic committee got together and discussed possible punishments for the men. Due to the Olympic violations the men were suspended from the Olympic games and also from Olympic Village, the homes for the athletes during the games (Gettings p.5). After going back to their homes the two received many death threats to them and their loved ones. At the time almost everybody but the black community was disgusted with their acts and saw it as a sign of disrespect to the Olympic Games. A spokesman for the IOC (International Olympic Committee) said it was "a deliberate and violent breach of the fundamental principles of the Olympic spirit" (“1968 Olympic” p.6). Both men were the talk of much criticism for doing this on the biggest stage there was. After the protest was over the two men were stripped of their medals and were compared to the Nazis, which many believed was a good comparison due to the way they saluted (“Olympic Protesters” p.5).  The risks taken by these men were huge and the consequences were bigger. Smith and Carlos did not care however because they knew that in doing so the black community would earn the respect they deserve in the long run. This was just another of many characteristics of them being transcendentalists. These men believed in themselves and understood if they trusted one another they could accomplish anything.
Finally but most importantly, Tommie Smith and John Carlos knew that with trusting themselves and each other they could go farther than being with a lot of people. Originally when the two men were going up to the podium Smith was going to wear both his gloves but then Peter Norman suggested that Smith give John Carlos his left one so they could both be apart of it. Smith jumped on the idea and the two men were going up with total confidence knowing others would disapprove. Smith trusted and relied on the fact that if both were up there it would make a bigger impact. In an interview from Joshua Haddow, Smith was asked what his thoughts were when going up to the podium, he said, “From getting no jobs, my belief in humanity, both civil and human, and I had to say something because, you know, I believed. You can run, but you cannot hide, and this was all part of my belief then and is still now. I have a responsibility. I was on a mission” (p.14). This man had a goal and nothing was going stop him from reaching that goal. Smith and Carlos had a dream that blacks and whites would have equal rights and opportunity and took a step in the right direction and made it possible. Smith said, "Black America will understand what we did tonight” (“Black Athletes” p.5). He trusted that the black community would know what they were trying to accomplish and doing so he recieved very different responses. The people that didn’t understand what he was doing cursed them out and booed them but he also gained some very good responses from the black community which made him and Carlos feel like what they did actually meant something.
It is important as a nation that we give all the different kinds of races the same equality and acknowledge that everyone deserves the same respect. Tommie Smith and John Carlos were and still fit the definition of transcendentalists because they were nonconformists, they took risks, and also trusted themselves and were self reliant. If people could look past the fact that what they did was an Olympic violation many would see that all they were doing was sticking up for their community and tried to make a positive impact for the world to come. Smith said after being asked about the reactions, “Change will continue. This is why I’m talking to you, because of my belief in a continuum, and things will continue to change” (Haddow p.22). Due to this response it proves that all he wanted was a change and that is what he got, he stood up for what he thought was right and made a difference when a majority of the people out there would have just let it happen.