A World In Pictures- Andrew Collins

This photo depicts the podium of one of the events in the 1968 Summer Olympics in Mexico City. The first and third place medalists are Americans Tommie Smith and John Carlos, giving the black power salute. Australian Peter Norman stands on the 2nd place podium, wearing an Olympic Project for Human Rights (OPHR) badge in support of their actions.

This iconic photo was taken in the midst of the Civil rights movement in America, and it appeared in headlines across the globe after it was taken. The two Americans were kicked out of the games after they made the gesture, showing the tentative state of civil rights movements across the globe at the time.

Similarly to Americans of the time, South Africans were rallying against Apartheid. The salute was meant to be a gesture of solidarity to the participants of both country's civil rights movements. The gesture was met with much criticism from the audience, who actually booed them off the podium.

The two African-Americans were not only making a gesture for the Civil rights movement. They were also barefoot, to protest poverty, wearing beads, to protest lynchings, and wearing buttons that said OPHR on them. These two men were doing much more than winning medals at this Olympic games.