#1968 olympics

[forever70s]

iconic 1968 Summer Olympics moment with Tommie Smith (1st), Peter Norman (2nd), and John Carlos (3rd)

[the-mascot-5]

I FINALLY FINISHED PANEL1 GAAA TYFBFA R VRRSCYFSTC

Someity is gifted a random letter from her classmate and fellow tech-savvy friend, Millie. I wonder what she has to say after German?…

[folkvisuals]

Věra Čáslavská

Čáslavská (May 3, 1942 - August 30, 2016) was a Czechoslovak artistic gymnast. She is the second-most awarded female gymnast in the Olympics, with a total of 11 medals.

Before the 1968 Mexico City Olympics, her training facility was lost due to the Soviet led invasion of Czechoslovakia. She was then forced to train alone, in the forest, using logs as beams and potato sacks as weights. Despite her setbacks, she went on to win medals in all six events.

While at the 1968 Mexico City Olympics Čáslavská publicly protested the 1968 Soviet Invasion of Czechoslovakia by silently looking down and away while the USSR’s anthem played.

She was revered by the Czech people and was awarded Czechoslovakia’s Sportsperson of The Year award in 1968. However, due to her protest, she became a persona non grata in the new Czechoslovak regime, and was forced to retire, also being denied the ability to travel and work.

21 years later, after the Velvet Revolution, Čáslavská’s status had improved and she became the President’s adviser on sports and social matters. Her story is that of resistance and resilience in times of hardship, she was a Czech icon whose protest should never be forgotten.

[fritfilter]

"Man, I didn't do what you guys did." He said, "But I was there in heart and soul to support what you did. I feel it's only fair that you guys go on and have your statues built there, and I would like to have a blank spot there and have a commemorative plaque stating that I was in that spot. But anyone that comes thereafter from around the world and going to San Jose State that support the movement, what you guys had in '68, they could stand in my spot and take the picture."

The White Man in the Photo of the Black Power Salute at the 1968 Olympics

[cantrece]

[goshyesvintageads]

Mexican National Tourist Council, 1968

[sun-cheyne]

Never forget these moments. Tommy Smith, John Carlos, Peter Norman.

Never forget that this was also a moment of solidarity. The reason the raised hands only had one glove was because they belonged to the silver medalist, Peter Norman. All three of the athletes wore Human Rights badges on their jackets. Norman didn't raise his fist because he did not want to steal the incredibly powerful moment from Tommie Smith and John Carlos.

Norman returned home to Australia as a pariah, suffering unofficial sanction and was ridiculed as the forgotten man of the Black Power salute. He was not selected for the 1972 Olympics and never ran in an Olympics again.

[audreyhepburninblackandwhite]

Audrey Hepburn and her good friend Doris Brynner at Chamrousse for the Winter Olympics near Grenoble on 5 February 1968

[dozydawn]

Peggy Fleming in Geneva for the World Figure Skating Championships, 1968. Photographed by Jack Garofalo.

[cuddleslover1738]

winter night

[godwantsit]

[postcard-from-the-past]

"Libertador Miguel Hidalgo" Olympic Village in Mexico City, Mexico

Mexican vintage postcard, mailed in 1968 to Paris

[coochiequeens]

Saving Women's Sports also means learning about women athletes

ROSEDALE, Miss. —

Mildrette Netter, Mississippi's first woman Olympic medalist, was the catalyst for change in women's track in the state.

"I wanted to go and experience a better life," Netter said.

Netter grew up in Rosedale, Mississippi.

"Two things I was at a disadvantage for was being from Mississippi and being short," she said.

This was the reason given by the coach at Tennessee State when he declined to give her a scholarship in 1967.

"There were no women's track programs in the state of Mississippi at all," Netter said.

She thought her career was over until Alcorn State University head track coach Grant Dungee reached out to her.

"She was the only girl," Dungee said. "Some of the guys she could beat."

Netter competed in out-of-state meets, shocking the competition as the short girl from Mississippi exploded onto the scene and into the 1968 Olympic 4 by 100-meter team.

"It made me eager and hungry," Netter said.

Her personal struggle was set against the backdrop of the civil rights movement and the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., just months before her Olympic debut.

Netter's husband, Alcorn teammate and Vietnam vet Willie, experienced the struggle firsthand.

"He had so much spirit, it put chills through you. That night that he was assassinated, we were at Alcorn college. Something happened there on base, they came on base, we got beat up on base on campus that night," Willie said.

"That was a very turmoil time in our country," Netter said.

Tommie Smith and John Carlos protested through their raised fist on the podium.

"Everyone protests in their own way," she added.

The lesser-known story of American social justice from the 1968 Olympics was Netter's effect on the state of Mississippi.

"They can see me, then hey, maybe they can be me," she said.

The Magnolia State was watching, and after seeing Netter help Team USA set a new world record in the 4 by 100 meters, it started to change.

"The next year, that's when they formed the team," Netter said.

Alcorn was one of the first, and other schools followed. No longer did Mississippi women have to go out of state to pursue their track and field dreams.

Netter wasn't the first woman to play sports in Mississippi, but she very well may have been the most important.

[gimmeshelter]

two of my favourite pictures of keith he's so cute in these

[artstamps]

Announcement of the 1968 Summer Olympic Games. Printed in Greece in 1968.