Tommie Smith, hero of the Mexico 1968 Games, is visiting France. During a conference organized by the immigration museum, as part of its exhibition “Olympism, a history of the world”, the American returned to his raised fist gesture, with his compatriot John Carlos, to denounce the discrimination against black people in the United States.
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Tommie Smith arrived in the auditorium of immigration museum and the audience rose as one for a standing ovation, like a star at the Cannes Film Festival, for the rebel hero of Mexico 1968.
A man loving freedom
That year, the first Olympic Games organized in a developing country are strongly influenced by politics. Opened under the protection of the army following the Tlatelolco massacreduring which students were killed by the police and the Mexican army, the Olympic Games were the scene of a gesture of political protest that marked the history of sport.
The Olympic champion and former world record holder in the 200 meters returned once again to his story: that of a man loving freedom, who challenged segregationist America one day in October 1968.
This gesture (the black-gloved fist) was his idea. A silent gesture, without comment. “ No one had ever asked me anythinghe explains. At the time, journalists thought athletes weren’t smart enough to think for themselves. I went to university to get an education and leave behind the cotton fields and plantations I knew as a child.. »
A master’s student in sociology and then a teacher, Tommie Smith always wanted to make his students understand that there were several ways of seeing things and not just one. “ I first went to Mexico to be an Olympic champion, not to demonstrate politically. But when I was asked what I could do to fight racism, the idea of the raised fist came to me “.
On the podium in Mexico, another American holds out his fist, the left one is John Carlos. The idea of this now legendary gesture germinated very quickly between the end of the race and the ceremonial podium for the two men. “ These were my glovessays Tommie Smith. I asked my wife to prepare them without knowing what I was going to do with them. There is an eternal dimension in this gesture “. He will then be supported by white athletes.
I didn’t expect such a sanction
This symbolic gesture is interpreted as a mark of support for the African-American political movement of the Black Panthers and Black power (black power in the United States). “ I never participated in the Panthers movement, but my commitments went against all discrimination in the world », specifies Tommie Smith. 1968 was marked by the assassination of Pastor Martin Luther King while the Vietnam War was raging.
Avery Brundage, president of the International Olympic Committee at the time, considered this gesture scandalous and asked American officials to exclude Smith and Carlos. “ I didn’t expect such a sanction, it became a sacrifice for me, said Tommie Smith. I returned to the United States with my gold medal and I could not fight against the IOC and the American government. To this day, I fight against racism. »
After an hour of interview, the audience gets up to applaud one last time for the man we nickname “Tommie Jet”. By way of conclusion, he says: “ If I only have one message, it would be : “you have a brain, so use it””. Understand whoever wants.