During the 1960s, sports sociologist Harry Edwards helped found
the Olympic Project for Human Rights which called for, among
other things, a boycott of the 1968 Mexico City Olympics to
protest racism in sports and society. The boycott was called
off, but athletes were still encouraged to protest. During their
time on the medal stand, African-American sprinters John Carlos
and Tommie Smith raised their arms in a black-power salute.
Edwards, author of Revolt of the Black Athlete and Sociology of
Sport, talked with Dave Zirin (www.edgeofsports.com) about the
impact of that action, as well as what sports tells us about
U.S. society. Dave Zirin: I was surprised at the level of
fanfare last year about the anniversary of the human rights
protests at the 1968 Olympics. Why do you think it resonates so
many decades later? Harry Edwards: One, you had a group of young
men—I was 24, I think John Carlos was 23, Tommie Smith was 24,
Lee Evans was 21—and we determined that we could impact the
course of events through Americ