- In the 1968 Olympics in Mexico City, USA medal winners Tommy Smith and John Carlos stood on the victory podium in silent protest during the national Anthem. Each bowed their head and raised a gloved fist in support of oppressed people around the world. This led to their ejection from the US Track and Field team and years of fighting prejudice by those who misunderstood the act to be anti-American. Forty years later to the day of that event, Smith and Carlos returned to Mexico City and the Olympic Stadium. This documentary remembers the heartache both men and their families have endured. The film culminates with both men being reunited in the Olympic stadium and facing their emotional place in history.—Steve Denny
- At the 1968 Summer Olympic Games, against a backdrop of a world in chaos, U.S. Olympians Tommie Smith and John Carlos stunned the world after winning gold and bronze medals, by bowing their heads and raising their black-gloved fists toward the sky as the national anthem played an action the two men said represented not only the American struggle for racial equality but the universal struggle for basic human rights - and the world has never forgotten. ESPN Films & Maggie Vision Productions present, Return to Mexico City, a one-hour documentary, on Americans Tommie Smith and John Carlos and their actions four decades ago at the Summer Olympics in Mexico City. The film premiered during ESPNs Black History Month programming. The special, narrated by Kiefer Sutherland, focuses on their dramatic actions and the aftermath of their struggles over the ensuing 40 years. The film also follows their historic journey back to Mexico City in October 2008 where they confront their past head on, together for the first time since their controversial dismissal from the 1968 Summer Games. The special features original interviews with President Barack Obama, Cornel West, and Tom Brokaw.
Contribute to this page
Suggest an edit or add missing content