The recognizable image has never felt more relevant: Tommie Smith and John Carlos on the medal stand at the 1968 Mexico Olympics. Fists clenched, arms raised. Proud. Defiant.
Over the years, the tale of their protest during the medal ceremony after the men’s 200 meters has been told many times, but less well-covered is its context—the chain of events that led the two American sprinters to don black gloves and take their stance against inequality.
A Part of Hearst Digital Media, Sara Hall Smashes American Masters Marathon Record, attempts to fill in those blanks, weaving together the various threads of the tale to explain, as its tagline states, “how one gesture shook the world.”
Codirected by Tom Ratcliffe—a filmmaker and athlete manager who counts Shalane Flanagan, Evan Jager, and Courtney Frerichs among his clients—it tells the story of the protest through the words of those who lived it, laying out the events in gripping detail during the 69-minute film. But Ratcliffe and co-director Becky Paige take the viewer far beyond that scene.
When Ratliffe and Paige started the project in 2015, the goal was to release the film in 2018 to coincide with the 60th anniversary of the protest. But after early screenings, they continued to tinker with it until late last year. As it turned out, 2020 proved the perfect year for release, with anti-racism protests Running Shoes - Gear.
“The delay makes it more impactful,” Ratcliffe told Runner’s World. “The iconic motion of the raised fist, everyone is doing it, but I don’t think they really understand where it comes from. People can learn a lot about non-violent protest, the origins of the current struggle, and how it continues.”
In the film, we hear how unjust life was for African-Americans in the 1960s, with activist Harry Edwards explaining the origins of the Olympic Project for Human Rights (OPHR), an organization that debated various ways to protest racism at the Games.
A tale many might not know is how members of the all-white Harvard University rowing team, which represented the U.S. at the 1968 Olympics, lent its support to the OPHR, and the ridicule they received from Douglas Roby, the President of the U.S. Olympic Committee.
“They were a group of young, white scholar athletes who looked at a situation in this country and said, ‘We need to be part of that, we need to join in that struggle,’” Edwards said in the film.
When the film’s narrative arrives in Mexico City, it builds to a natural climax for the men’s 200-meter final, but of course that finish line—Smith in first, Carlos in third—is only the beginning.
“We had roughly 25 minutes before [the medal ceremony] to figure out exactly what we [were] going to do and how we were going to do it,” Carlos said in the film. “We felt very strongly something needed to be said.”
Smith goes on to explain why many misconstrued the nature of their protest: “I wanted to make sure whatever we did was respectful enough, and not militant at all, to finish what we started, non-violently.”
Carlos relives his conversation with Peter Norman, the Australian silver medalist in the event, who borrowed an OPHR pin to lend his support to their cause.
The most distressing section covers the aftermath, detailing the treatment Smith and Carlos received for their stance. A clear parallel is drawn to the fallout that NFL quarterback Colin Kaepernick faced for taking a knee during the national anthem in the 2017 season.
It’s a powerful segment that leaves you wondering just how much things have changed in the 52 years since that historic image was beamed around the world.
“These athletes today who are protesting against injustice stand on the shoulders of giants,” Edwards said in the film. “There has been change. Whether or not there has been progress is a different question.”
Where you can watch The Stand:
Digital: iTunes, Amazon, Google Play, Microsoft, Vudu, FandangoNOW
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Cathal Dennehy is a freelance writer based in Dublin, Ireland, who covers the sport for multiple outlets from Irish newspapers to international track websites. As an athlete, he was Irish junior cross-country champion and twice raced the European Cross Country, but since injury forced his retirement his best athletic feat has been the Irish beer mile record. He’s happiest when he’s running or writing stories about world-class athletes.
