1966-1968 Challenges

In 1968, athletes Tommie Smith and John Carlos placed the struggle for civil rights on a world stage when they raised their fists on the winners' podium at the Summer Olympics in Mexico City. They wanted to draw attention to the treatment of African Americans in the U.S. The men were suspended from the U.S. team and sent home.

Discussion Points

• Critics of Smith and Carlos said politics has no place in the Olympics. Can you find other instances of politics influencing the Olympic Games?
• Smith also tried to focus attention on apartheid in South Africa and Rhodesia. What was apartheid?
• Did Americans' boycotts against South Africa help end apartheid?