The 1968 Olympic protestWhere: Mexico City, Mexico
When: October 1968
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Consequences/Importance
Within a couple of hours, their actions were being condemned by the International Olympic Committee (BBC). The next morning, the two were told that they could keep their medals, but they must leave the Olympic Village immediately and return to the U.S. (Barra). The U.S. was already deeply divided over the Vietnam War and civil rights movement, and this only increased the tension across the country. Upon their return to the U.S., Smith and Carlos received lots of backlash including death threats for their actions (Davis). They both had trouble finding work and Carlos's wife later committed suicide because of the pressure put on him following his protest (Barra). Overall, the protest was successful in accomplishing its goals of raising awareness for black oppression, even though it brought a lot of hardship with it. This protest was important in promoting the same peaceful protest that Martin Luther King Jr. had been such a strong supporter of, while still pushing their cause of black equality and not accepting that things had to stay the way they were.
Within a couple of hours, their actions were being condemned by the International Olympic Committee (BBC). The next morning, the two were told that they could keep their medals, but they must leave the Olympic Village immediately and return to the U.S. (Barra). The U.S. was already deeply divided over the Vietnam War and civil rights movement, and this only increased the tension across the country. Upon their return to the U.S., Smith and Carlos received lots of backlash including death threats for their actions (Davis). They both had trouble finding work and Carlos's wife later committed suicide because of the pressure put on him following his protest (Barra). Overall, the protest was successful in accomplishing its goals of raising awareness for black oppression, even though it brought a lot of hardship with it. This protest was important in promoting the same peaceful protest that Martin Luther King Jr. had been such a strong supporter of, while still pushing their cause of black equality and not accepting that things had to stay the way they were.
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