The Story Behind The White Guy In This Historic Photo

 Issue Overdue Apology to 1968 Olympic Hero Peter Norman
After standing with Tommie Smith and John Carlos, the late, great Peter Norman gets his due.
 n an act as appropriate as it is overdue, the Australian House of Parliament is issuing an official state apology Monday to the country’s late, great sprinter Peter Norman. Norman won the 200-meter silver medal at the 1968 Olympics, but that’s not why he’s either remembered or owed apologies. After the race, gold and bronze medalists Tommie Smith and John Carlos bowed their heads and raised their fists on the medal stand and started an international firestorm. Many see the iconic image and assume Norman was just a bystander to history, or as he would joke, “the white guy.” But he was standing in full solidarity with Smith and Carlos, wearing a patch on his chest that reads, “Olympic Project for Human Rights.”
www.thenation.com...

This came in my Youtube feed.
If there is a older thread on this I haven't found despite using a combination of keywords, not only that but the story escaped me back in 2012, all I can say is wow! who knew?? and the price he paid for standing up while others sat down, I have seen docs about the event but I never heard his name, tip of the hat to you Peter Norman, I hope they add you to the statues of those two other Americans you took a stand with.
Sorry as a selfstyled amature historian I had never heard your story.

I honestly had to read the link to even understand what the story was about. After having read it, bravo to Peter Norman! Much respect!

To Austrailia, well, better late than never.

It's cool, that they carried his coffin.. A true hero who stood up for what he believed in.

If I were the family, I'd tell'em to shove it and put their money where their mouth is. "If your so sorry, award us all the money he would have made in his life, as well as a "sorry for being douche bags" amount. And do it on national TV. After a poor showing in the Olympics, they want to drag up someone who did do well and call him, OUR National Hero. They abused and ridiculed him for over 40 years. Some things you just can't forgive.
Shove It.

The way he was treated is inexcusable. Ignorance is a world wide phenomenon.

I wonder if he knew about Luz Long and Jesse Owens in the 38 Olympics? I think I remember reading Owens felt more accepted in nazi Germany's than he did in America.

This graffiti stood proudly displayed for over 20 years in Sydney Australia on the inner west line at Macdonaldtown train station (where I live) millions of Australian's passed it everyday, only recently it was removed which I think is really sad.

a reply to: Spider879

Wow, that's kind of sad what happened to him after the Olympics. It's admirable that he stood strong and didn't cave to pressure.

originally posted by: texasgirl
a reply to: Spider879

Wow, that's kind of sad what happened to him after the Olympics. It's admirable that he stood strong and didn't cave to pressure.

Yes the price was indeed heavy.

That is the dedication to truth and justice we all should hope to emulate.
You don't do it for popularity, fame, money or even for some movement.
You do it because your heart tells you it's right.