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Quote by John Carlos

“The beads around my neck [at Olympics in 1968] indicated that there were so many Blacks throughout the history of this country that have been maimed and killed by way of hangings.”

Quote by John Carlos

Author

John Carlos, born on June 5, 1945, is a renowned Olympic athlete. He gained fame for his protest against racial discrimination at the 1968 Mexico City Olympics, where he and Tommy Smith raised black gloves during the medal ceremony. more

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“The black socks [on me at Olympics in 1968] emphasized the fact that we had so many Blacks and people of color here in the United States, the greatest country in the world, that was running around in poverty every day, so we wanted to illustrate the fact that these individuals did not have shoes and they had to walk 20 miles to and from school every day with no shoes in the greatest country in the world.”

People World Country States Facts Running Wanted School Individual Black Walks United Poverty United States Color Shoes Miles Olympics Sock

Author:John Carlos

“We wanted to bring attention to the fact that we had so many deals taking place that we could have made change for the better for all people, and we felt that we would be a catalyst to bring this to attention to society.”

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“I think the Olympic Games have been married to political statements. If I go back to Berlin in 1936, it was very politically orientated then, just with the Nazis.”

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“If you look at the Olympic Games as a whole, if we would say we didn't want to interject politics into the games, then why are we using nation's flags? Why don't we use one Olympic flag to encompass all the Olympians, as opposed to being separatists in terms of China versus Russia or Russia versus the United States? Why don't we just say man versus man?”

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Author:John Carlos

“It was like when we went to Mexico City [Olympics in 1968] it was sun and shining and bright. When we came home it was chaotic and storms everywhere. I think the most devastating thing was to make the adjustment as to why so many individuals that you grew up with in the sport thought it necessary to turn their backs and walk away from you.”

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Author:John Carlos

“It took some time for us to realize that [people] didn't particularly say they didn't like us or have the love for us that they had in the past, nor the respect. I think they chose to leave based on the fact that they felt a reprisal for being associated or having a friendship with John Carlos or Tommie Smith, or Peter Norman, for that matter.”

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“Muhammad Ali, the Jim Browns, the Bill Russells, Kareem [Abdul Jabbar ], these individuals supported us, but yet still, when you sit back and say the coverage that was done relative to their support was very shallow.”

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“[Sport officials] blocked their support of us. But those individuals [ Muhammad Ali, the Jim Browns, the Bill Russells, Kareem Abdul Jabbar ] were old enough, they were wise enough, and they knew their history and this is why they came out in support of us, because they knew that we had our finger on the right move.”

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Author:John Carlos

“Peter Norman's a man's man.”

Author:John Carlos

“The greater our knowledge increases the more our ignorance unfolds.”

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