Mexico City’s Provocative Power Movement
Mexico saw a great number of ordeals during the year of 1968. Before the Summer Olympic Games could begin in Mexico City, the year began with the Winter Games in Grenoble, France. During the games came a decision to allow the apartheid country of South Africa to participate in the Summer Olympics. Being an apartheid country meant that there was institutionalized segregations and heavy discrimination within the country. This caused a major upset around the world: boycotts emerged in Africa with 32 participating countries, the Soviet Union was willing to refuse participating in the games, and American athletes protested the games to be called off entirely. Needless to say, Mexico City’s Olympic Committee sought to salvage their Olympic Games by reversing the decision made earlier that year and South Africa was once again removed as a participant.
The Olympics were very important to the Mexican Government and the country itself. This issue with South Africa lasted until three months later, with residual issues occurring until October when the games began. Although, this was the time of student protests, and Mexico wasn’t uninvolved in these types of demonstrations. Since the Mexican Government wanted to have an uninterrupted Olympic Games they did not welcome these frequent protests.
On October 2nd, the Tlatelolco Massacre occurred and saw the death of hundreds of Mexican students and civilians. A Guardian article said that “official sources stated that the number of dead was in the dozens,” which conflicts with the public recollection of this event. John Rodda, a sports reporter for the Guardian, also had a personal account of this event.
Ten days later, the Summer Olympic Games began and the world was the witness. The issues leading up to the games were mostly left in the nonlinear stream of history. Better known events took place during the Games themselves when U.S. Gold Medalist Tommie Smith and Bronze Medalist John Carlos wore black gloves and held their fists up high, a salute best known for the “Black Power” movement, while standing upon the podium.Tommie Smith wore socks to represent poverty, a black scarf around his neck to represent the country’s lynching, and stood for a social equality that did not currently exist at that time.
Although now Tommie Smith and his fellow medalists on the podium are praised for their actions half-a-century ago, the uproar that this move caused was loud and just as striking. They were barred from the Olympics permanently. They received death threats from then onward and lived in fear but they did not regret what transpired that day.
Protests within a city, across numerous countries, and even a culturally important event all seek to make a change of some kind of injustice. 1968 was not a kind year and many remember it for what they tried to do rather than what was accomplished at the time. The public fought for a better life and stood for something bigger than themselves.
Works Cited:
Nelsson, Richard. “How the Guardian Reported Mexico City’s Tlatelolco massacre of 1968.” The Guardian, 11 Nov. 2015, https://www.theguardian.com/cities/from-the-archive-blog/2015/nov/12/guardian-mexico-tlatelolco-massacre-1968-john-rodda
