Tommie Smith received the gold medal at the 1968 Olympic Games in Mexico City in a memorable fashion. With a string of beads around his neck and only black socks on his feet, Smith raised his black-gloved fist in an effort to send a message about racism to the world.

Smith, the winner and world record holder of the 200m track event, was not alone. Alongside him, standing on the podium designated for the bronze-medal winner, was American and college teammate John Carlos. Together, the pair of African-Americans hoped to let the world know that they were black and they were American, and the two could not be separated, Smith said at the press conference following the medal ceremony in 1968.

"If I win I am an American, not a black American. But if I did something bad then they would say 'a Negro'. We are black and we are proud of being black. ... Black America will understand what we did tonight," Smith said in 1968.