Unit 3: Black Lives Matter (Tle G6_gr2)
A Silence that Speaks Volumes
The document
under study is a news report from CBS Evening News published in 2016. It deals
with the famous African-American Olympians’ protest on the victory stand during
the Mexico Olympics of 1968. We can hear Tommie Smith being interviewed telling
how he felt during his protest gesture. Moreover,
he explains the reasons why they felt the need to protest at the time to
denounce racial inequality in the USA. Indeed,
even though through the Civil Rights act of 1964, discriminations were
considered illegal it still continued to that day. Their act of protest was
controversial: the two athletes were banned from the Olympic Village and banished
from the future Olympic Games. Nevertheless,
their action could create greater opportunity for people that followed.
They were
honored 50 years later at the White House by President Obama because their
action inspired others and had an impact on the society. Through his gesture,
Obama wanted to make up for the injustice
that happened at the time toward Smith and Carlos. On
top of that, as an Africa-American citizen himself, he felt it was his
duty to make them feel honored for their act of protest. Besides, Obama also wanted to restore the government’s
dignity through this action in order to give a better image of the American institutions.
Homework: Learn the lesson.
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