A half a century after the US Olympic Committee (USOC) expelled famed sprinters Tommie Smith and John Carlos over their infamous Black Power Salute on the medals stand, the organization has announced the men will FINALLY be inducted into the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Hall of Fame for their “character, conduct and off-field contributions,” according to the USA Today.
Smith is now 75 and Carlos is now 74 but the duo made headlines and history at the 1968 Summer Olympics in Mexico City when they raised their gloved fists on the medals stand to protest racial injustice against Blacks.
They were then dismissed from the team and suffered abuse and even death threats once back in the United States. The US Olympic Committee now plans to make things right and have announced that the Olympic medalist will be inducted into the USOC Hall of Fame at a ceremony in Colorado Springs on Nov. 1.