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What was the names of 2 atheletes @olympic game not long ago who caused a political uprisingwhen they were on?

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  1. Tommie Smith & John Carlos


  2. Tommie Smith and John Carlos, 1968 Olympics. They threw up the Power to the people sign (black gloved fists held above their bowed heads, normally done witht the right hand but Carlos forgot his gloves, and so he wore the left one from Smith, hence his left hand being raised instead of his right). they were both banned from the track team (under protest from the US, but the IOC threatened to ban the entire team), for making a political statement in a (supossed) apolitical event.

  3. On the morning of October 16, 1968,[2] American athlete Smith won the 200 metre race in a then-world-record time of 19.83 seconds, with Australia's Peter Norman second with a time of 20.06 seconds, and American Carlos in third place with a time of 20.10 seconds. After the race was completed, the three went to collect their medals at the podium. The two American athletes received their medals shoeless, but wearing black socks, to represent black poverty.[3] Smith wore a black scarf around his neck to represent black pride.[3] Carlos had his tracksuit top unzipped to show solidarity with all blue collar workers in America. Furthermore, Carlos wore beads which he described "were for those individuals that were lynched, or killed that no-one said a prayer for, that were hung and tarred. It was for those thrown off the side of the boats in the middle passage."[4] All three athletes wore Olympic Project for Human Rights (OPHR) badges, after Norman expressed sympathy with their ideals. Sociologist Harry Edwards, the founder of the OPHR, had urged black athletes to boycott the games; reportedly, the actions of Smith and Carlos on October 16, 1968,[2] were inspired by Edwards' arguments.[5]

    Both Americans intended on bringing black gloves to the event, but Carlos forgot his, leaving them in the Olympic Village. It was the Australian, Peter Norman, who suggested Carlos wear Smith's left-handed glove, this being the reason behind him raising his left hand, as opposed to his right, differing from the traditional Black Power salute.[6] When "The Star-Spangled Banner" played, Smith and Carlos delivered the salute with heads bowed, a gesture which became front page news around the world. As they left the podium they were booed by the crowd.[7] Smith later said "If I win, I am American, not a black American. But if I did something bad, then they would say I am a *****. We are black and we are proud of being black. Black America will understand what we did tonight."


  4. The two men were Tommie Smith and John Carlos. Teammates at San Jose State University, Smith and Carlos were stirred by the suggestion of a young sociologist friend Harry Edwards, who asked them and all the other black American athletes to join together and boycott the games. The protest, Edwards hoped, would bring attention to the fact that America's civil rights movement had not gone far enough to eliminate the injustices black Americans were facing. Edwards' group, the Olympic Project for Human Rights (OPHR), gained support from several world-class athletes and civil rights leaders but the all-out boycott never materialized.

    Still impassioned by Edwards' words, Smith and Carlos secretly planned a non-violent protest in the manner of Martin Luther King, Jr. In the 200-meter race, Smith won the gold medal and Carlos the bronze. As the American flag rose and the Star-Spangled Banner played, the two closed their eyes, bowed their heads, and began their protest.

    Smith later told the media that he raised his right, black-glove-covered fist in the air to represent black power in America while Carlos' left, black-covered fist represented unity in black America. Together they formed an arch of unity and power. The black scarf around Smith's neck stood for black pride and their black socks (and no shoes) represented black poverty in racist America.

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