Legacy of 1968 Olympics Black Power Salute Essay

Open, View, and/or
Download this Document

Total Length: 5003 words ( 17 double-spaced pages)

Total Sources: 8

Page 1 of 17

sensational images in the media, especially as social media has led to the instantaneous reproduction of memes in popular culture. Even before social media and even the Internet, sensational images could spread relatively rapidly via film and television as well as print media such as daily newspapers or weekly and monthly magazines. These images convey various meanings and mean different things for different audiences. A perfect example of how one image can convey different meanings and semantics to different audience groups is the 1968 image taken of the Olympian athletes from the United States using the Black Power "salute." The original image by John Dominis has left an indelible mark on the American public and has even caused an international sensation. It came in the era of Civil Rights and at the time when celebrity black athletes were using their fame to spread awareness about racism and unfair treatment in their home country, This is where the media, social justice, and the law intersect. In this image, Tommie Smith and John Carlos hold up their hands high in the shape of the fist as they wear black gloves. This symbolic gesture represents the central icon of the Black Power movement's flag, signifying unity among people of color and the power they can share and wield when working together.

Moreover, the Dominis photograph clearly chose the men wearing black socks and no shoes. Their choice of clothing represents the lack of support given to black athletes versus their white counterparts, and represents the huge disparities between white and black in America even beyond the world of sports. At the press conference following the medal ceremony, Smith admitted that not wearing shoes symbolized "black poverty in racist America," ("1968: Black Athletes Make Silent Protest"). In every arena of public life in America, it is possible to see such instances of inequality such as in public schools and the differential resources provided to predominantly black versus white institutions. When the photograph was taken, the Civil Rights era was at its peak, ending decades of legalized segregation but unfortunately not ending centuries of overt, systematic, and institutionalized racism. This image remains powerful in the 21st century because Americans have failed to learn the lessons of the past. Current images similar to the Black Power "salute" at the 1968 Olympics include those that have to do with the "Black Lives Matter" movement that protests unfair treatment by the police.

Tommie Smith and John Carlos also bow their heads in a moment of silence while on the podium, another physical gesture captured by the photographer in this iconic image. The gesture of bowing the heads signals the disillusionment and shame felt towards a nation that professes to be about liberty and justice, about equality and freedom. The athletes protest hypocrisy and challenge Americans to understand their cause rather than fear Black Power. A sensational image like this one not only makes people impressed by its visual or aesthetic imagery, but also influences the ways people think about the world, their values, biases, and worldview. The Black Power salute photograph from the 1968 Olympics proves the value of images is not inherent in what tools that photographers may have used or how fancy the composition or the lighting of the photo happened to be at the time. Rather, the true value of images may be in how those pictures touch the hearts and minds of the audience and inspire action or political change.

From the perspective of a photographer or any other artist or journalist, taking sensational images is not easy. It is not something that one can necessarily plan. In this case, the photographer likely did not know that these athletes were going to be posed in such a way, and the capture of the image was spontaneous and surprising. The public response to the image was in part due to the nature of surprise, because the gesture of accepting the award at the Olympics took place on an international stage where viewers from around the world were watching. In this case, the entire world was able to see that not all Americans are satisfied with their lives and needed to use their award to bring attention to a social cause. The photographers at the Olympics generally imagine themselves capturing pure victory and the face of a proud champion, not the image of athletes who are ashamed of the way their people have been treated.

Photographers have to use different colors and angles to catch the facial expressions or actions in their subjects.

Stuck Writing Your "Legacy of 1968 Olympics Black Power Salute" Essay?

View All Our Example Legacy of 1968 Olympics Black Power Salute Essay

Have A Custom Example Essay Written

Every individual person has different approaches to portrait or people pictures, and unique insight into the photographic tools and techniques. This image was taken in black and white film, at the 1968 Olympics in Mexico City. John Dominis was an American documentary photographer and war photographer. Therefore, Dominis must have had already encountered political actions in his subjects. The subtlety of the political action embedded in this photograph is one of the reasons why it has become so famous. These two athletes have just won an award in the name of a nation that had enslaved their ancestors, and which sponsored segregation against them. Moreover, these two athletes had won the award in spite of these obstacles and had overcome those barriers to achievement. The Black Power salute underscores the magnitude of their accomplishments. The picture has been called "1968 Olympics Black Power Salute," and ended up being one of Dominis' most famous pictures. Not only that, the image will forever be a part of American history. It is a piece of documentary evidence, just as a presidential speech might be.

Tommie Smith and John Carlos were Olympic sprinters. Smith earned the gold medal and Carlos the bronze. What the photograph cannot capture is the audio effects. As the image was being taken, the American national anthem would have been playing on the loudspeaker system in the stadium. The entire world was listening to the American national anthem while watching these two athletes perform a subtle subversive act: instead of placing their hands on their hearts in typical patriotic fashion, they bowed their heads and raised their black-gloved fists. The fists raised in the Black Power salute symbolize a direct statement against the laws, politics, and policies of racism in the United States. Moreover, their salute represents union and solidarity with their compatriots back home who daily experience the effects of overt and institutionalized racism.

Racism has been one of the defining features of the United States since before the founding of the nation, when the trans-Atlantic slave trade ensured that a black underclass would be created. The end of slavery required a Civil War, so entrenched was racism in the consciousness of Americans. Moreover, the official end of slavery did not mean the end of racism. For too long, Americans had believed that persons of color were inferior human beings. The Constitution of the United States had to be changed to allow blacks and women to vote, because these were groups of people deemed lesser than white males. Therefore, racial inequality has been a big problem in American society since its inception. Despite the substantial progress made to create a more egalitarian society, including the Civil Rights movement during the 1960s, issues of race, ethnicity and discrimination are still taking place today, and many problems can be found in areas like unequal treatment in law enforcement and a general denial that racism exists at all. Some of the most fundamental problems that minorities still face today in the United States deal primarily with finding equal opportunity in the workplace and in society in general. Because minorities are not able to find equal employment opportunities, even today, there are a number of subsidiary consequences including backlash against affirmative action, which exists precisely because many whites do not recognize that white privilege exists. Racism has led to a great divide along the lines of race and socio-economic class, which is linked to race in America.

The image of the Olympic athletes on the podium after winning their medals made a strong political statement akin to a political protest. By not performing the traditional gesture of placing the hand on their hearts and singing the anthem, these two athletes knew the kind of retaliation that they would likely experience from their expression. A fist raised in the air has long been associated with worker solidarity movements, linking race and class in America (Cushing). The fist raised was also a statement that Black men possess political power even when the dominant culture has systematically stripped that power, Black athletes possess power inherent in their physical prowess and winning spirit, but also in their ability to become role models for Black youth. These two men had just won a Gold and Bronze medal in the Olympics, yet there may have been many things that they could not do in their home country simply for the fact that they were black. Their parents had experienced even….....

Show More ⇣

     Open the full completed essay and source list


OR

     Order a one-of-a-kind custom essay on this topic


sample essay writing service

Cite This Resource:

Latest APA Format (6th edition)

Copy Reference
"Legacy Of 1968 Olympics Black Power Salute" (2015, November 20) Retrieved June 3, 2026, from
https://www.aceyourpaper.com/essays/legacy-1968-olympics-black-power-salute-2160348

Latest MLA Format (8th edition)

Copy Reference
"Legacy Of 1968 Olympics Black Power Salute" 20 November 2015. Web.3 June. 2026. <
https://www.aceyourpaper.com/essays/legacy-1968-olympics-black-power-salute-2160348>

Latest Chicago Format (16th edition)

Copy Reference
"Legacy Of 1968 Olympics Black Power Salute", 20 November 2015, Accessed.3 June. 2026,
https://www.aceyourpaper.com/essays/legacy-1968-olympics-black-power-salute-2160348
   

Open, View, and/or
Download this Document
order custom essay example