Peter Norman was an Australian sprinter. After the 1968 Olympic Games, he never competed in another despite qualifying. And though the AOC denied this, there is strong evidence to suggest that the reason he wasn’t allowed back was due to his support of Smith and Carlos’ protest.
The AOC highlighted Norman due to him breaking the Australian record in sprinting, but went on to say his achievements were “dwarfed” due to his support of the protest. The badge he wore on his chest, reading “Olympic Project for Human Rights,” may have caused him his career.
Norman’s nephew has spoken about Norman, saying that as soon as he got home he was hated and ostracized by his community. At the time, Australia was also in the midst of a racist battle, with the “White Australia” policy, which prevented enforcements of racial aspects of the immigration law and was extremely hard on the aboriginal people. Norman was an advocate for anti-racism, but no one expected him to be so bold at the olympics.
Carlos and Smith already wanted to make a statement, but when Carlos forgot his black gloves, it was Norman who suggested they share a pair and one wear a glove on his left hand. Norman couldn’t truly protest with them, but he wanted to show his support and asked for an “Olympic Project for Human Rights” badge.
Norman never ran in the olympics again, and wasn’t invited even to the Sydney olympics. Despite being the fastest sprinter in his country’s history, there was no public outcry for the disrespect shown to Norman. He was shunned.
Luckily, not everyone forgot the solidarity shown by Norman. The United States Olympic Committee flew Norman to Sydney to be a part of their delegation. The AOC still denies that Norman was not brought back to the olympics due to racism and anger at Norman showing support, but they still have never given a clear answer as to why he was never picked, despite the fact that his sprinting times would have won him gold at future olympics that he was not allowed at.
Peter Norman died of a heart attack in 2006. At his funeral, Smith and Carlos both spoke and carried his coffin. Norman was a brave man, who stood for human rights when he didn’t need to, and paid the price for it. His didn’t care that his amazing sprinting time was obscured by the salute, he didn’t care that he would be shunned by his country. He stood in solidarity as an ally and supporter of the anti-racist movement. He still stands as one of the best examples of what an ally should be.
In 2012, a motion of apology was passed in federal parliament for his “treatment upon his return to Australia and the failure to fully recognize his inspirational role before his untimely death in 2006”. He was also awarded the Order of Merit. In the end, Norman was never bitter or held a grudge. Instead, he stated how proud he was to be a part the salute. Norman should be remembered for his heroic stance despite the consequences.
Sources:
https://edition.cnn.com/2012/04/24/sport/olympics-norman-black-power/index.html
https://www.smh.com.au/sport/peter-norman-to-be-recognised-for-role-in-1968-black-power-salute-20180427-p4zc2y.html
I absolutely loved reading this post! I remember hearing about Peter Norman before, but I never realized that his support of human rights and the rights of his fellow runners cost him his career. I think this really reveals the widespread racism of the time, and how white supremacists didn't just try to oppress African-Americans, but even the white people who supported them.
ReplyDeleteThis was a really interesting post and I'm surprised I've never heard of Peter Norman before. I can't believe his small act of support cost him his career but I'm glad he stood by what he believed in.
ReplyDeleteThis was a really interesting post to me because I didn't realize that Australia was in the midst of a racist battle because I always thought that America was the only one going through that kind of struggle at the time. I was really surprised because I thought Americans were the only ones who looked at race as black and white while other countries discriminated by other physical attributes so this was really eye opening for me.
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