Months before the 1968 Olympics were held in Mexico City, the Olympic Project for Human Rights urged all African-American athletes to boycott the games. The boycott never happened, but a member of the OPHR was a friend of sprinters Tommie Smith and John Carlos, and the pair agreed to participate in some sort of protest should they win medals.

As it turned out, Smith won the gold (and set a world record) in the 200 meter race, and Carlos snagged the bronze. The two mounted the podium shoeless, wearing black socks, as a symbol of black poverty in America. Smith wore a black glove on his right hand to represent Black Power, and Carlos one on his left hand to symbolize unity in Black America. Both men raised their gloved fists during the playing of the National Anthem.

The man who is often forgotten in this scenario is Peter Norman, the Australian who won the silver medal. Norman wore an OPHR patch on his jacket during the medal ceremony to show his support for Smith and Carlos. In 2005, a statue of the famous raised-fist stance of Smith and Carlos was unveiled at their alma mater, San Jose State University. Conspicuously absent from the sculpture was Norman. He was, however, at the unveiling ceremony, and approved of the artwork. “Anybody can get up there (on the sculpture in his place) and stand up for something they believe in. I guess that just about says it all.”

R.I.P. Peter Norman, June 15, 1942 – Oct. 3, 2006