Tommie was asked in one of his recent speaking engagements, by an audience member who was there to witness the events in 1968, exactly what he was doing and thinking prior to climbing the victory stand.  Tommie strongly reiterated one statement… “Praying”,  “I was praying underneath the bleachers, I was praying on the walk up to the victory stand, and the entire time I was up there”.

So the question is, why was this gesture interpreted as an act of disloyalty to the country he represented? 

Why do so many Americans still consider this gesture as disrespectful even today, when we consider ourselves to be politically correct and considerably more understanding of cultural differences?

Can we honestly look back at the state of civil rights in 1968 and tell these young Black men that they had no right to choose a world wide forum to protest inhumane treatment of blacks and other minorities at that Olympic games? 

If that is the case, then do we have a right to interfere or protest inhumane conditions in other countries?  What about the forms of protest we chose to end Apartheid?

If he had chosen to clasp his hands together in prayer, while bowing his head, would he have still been misunderstood?

Tommie Smith, quoted from HBO’s Fists of Freedom, “We were not Antichrists.  We were just human beings who saw a need to be recognized.  I don’t like the idea of people looking at it as negative.  There was nothing but a raised fist in the air and a bowed head, acknowledging the American flag – not symbolizing a hatred for it.