The Forgotten Story of Peter Norman -'I'll stand with you.' (You should know his story!)
Australian sprinter Peter Norman (left) stands on the podium next to Americans Tommie Smith and John Carlos as they raise their gloved fists in an iconic salute during the national anthem to express their opposition to racism in the U.S. (Getty Images)
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Peter Norman was an Australian sprinter in the 1960s. You probably know that Australia is not a country with a rich history of great male sprinters. Sprinting was not part of the nation’s rabid sports DNA. Norman was preparing to be a butcher, and he discovered his natural speed quite by accident, when he filled in for a no-show in the local club championship. The story was that he ran his first race on borrowed spikes. He kept running, and became a consistent Australian champion at 200 meters.
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So Carlos and Smith went to Norman and asked him if he believed in human rights. Norman said yes. They asked him if he believed in God. Norman said yes. They told him what they intended to do on the stand and how they were sure that it was the most important thing they would do at the Olympics. Norman said four words that Carlos and Smith would never forget. He said, “I’ll stand with you.”
Carlos and Smith went to the medal podium wearing black socks. They had intended to also wear black gloves, but Carlos had left his pair behind. Norman suggested that one wear a black glove on his right hand, the other on his left. And that’s what they did. The photo of John Carlos and Tommie Smith holding up one black gloved hand has become one of the most iconic in American history, and perhaps THE most iconic in Olympic history. Peter Norman stands to the left, an unclear look on his face. What you cannot see in the photo is that Norman was wearing a badge that read: “Olympic Project For Human Rights,” which he had borrowed from Paul Hoffman, a white member of the U.S. rowing team.
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But the press was not so accommodating. They tore Norman to shreds. Back home, Norman was banned from track for a couple of years. And even after he returned, though he was by far Australia’s top sprinter and one of the best in the world, they did not send him to the Olympics in Munich four years later.
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Peter Norman died in 2006. He was 64 years old. This weekend, the BBC showed footage of his funeral. They showed John Carlos and Tommie Smith carrying Peter Norman’s casket.
http://sportsonearthblog.com/2012/08/10/the-forgotten-story-of-peter-norman/
Norman got smacked harshly for his stand, and he struggled all his life.
He could have demurred by saying he had no dog in that fight because he was Australian not American. He took a much larger world view of humanity and the rights of others.
Carlos and Smith were dumped on too. They were also treated badly, but eventually achieved their rightful due. They never forgot Norman or what he did. They helped carry him home at the end of his life.
= new reply since forum marked as read
....in a different thread just yesterday.
It was in a thread regarding an American athlete, Leo Manzano, a medalist who chose to carry not only the American flag but the Mexican flag as well.
In my response, I pointed out that the three men in this photo would have supported Manzano in his choice to carry both flags.
(post 34)
http://www.democraticunderground.com/10021105303
I was unaware of the background story of the historic moment portrayed in the photograph of the three athletes.
A most intriguing coincidence, these three medalists showed their support for what they believed in during the playing of the American National Anthem in Mexico, Manzano, a Mexican American showed his support for both America and Mexico by carrying both flags.
He did so because he first arrived here from Mexico at age four as the son of an undocumented immigrant laborer.
The story of human rights still championed by champions!
