Victory. Stand!: Raising My Fist for Justice

Content Warning: This section of the guide includes incidents of racial discrimination and violence present in the source text.

In June of 1963, the governor of Alabama physically blocks two Black students from entering a University of Alabama building, protesting integration. The same month, Medgar Evers is murdered in Jackson, Mississippi. Three months later, four young Black girls are killed in an explosion that targeted Black people at a church in Birmingham, Alabama.

Tommie narrates how he wasn’t aware of all the dangers that Black Americans faced, since news often arrived slowly. He arrives in San Jose for college. When he arrives, he meets Saint Saffold, his roommate. At school, Tommie notices that many other students wear nicer clothes than him, and he feels like the odd one out. Saint, who plays basketball and football, is friendly. Tommie misses his family but knows that getting an education will mean that he would never have to work in a field.

During his freshman year, Tommie is 1 of only 20 or 30 Black students, and white students “would stare, jeer, turn their backs, even point at [him]” (109). He studies social science, wanting to prove that he is serious about his education and not just there to make the school’s sports teams look good. He spends his free time in the library. He goes to church every Sunday. Tommie also spends time with other Black students discussing what it’s like to be the only Black students on campus. Tommie feels at home in this group.

During his first year, Tommie plays basketball and runs track. He achieves the best time in the 400-meter dash in the country for that year. Over the summer, he cleans school buildings and works in the field with his father. During his sophomore year, he only runs track.

In June of 1964, hundreds of college students campaign to register more Black voters in Mississippi. The Ku Klux Klan threatens Black Americans who plan on registering to vote, and they are later found to be involved in the murder of three young men.

Tommie describes his track coach, Coach Winter, explaining that, despite the man’s calm exterior, he has trained so many star athletes that his track squad is known as “Speed City” (120). Coach Winter approaches the human body as “a machine that could be controlled by the mind, by science” (121). He excels at helping runners no matter their weaknesses.

At the same time, San Jose State students make plans to join civil rights marches across the South. On March 7, 1965, John Lewis and other activists march from Selma to Montgomery, Alabama. They are protesting the murder of a deacon named Jimmie Lee Jackson, who was killed by state troopers. Lewis and his compatriots are beaten by policemen, and many marchers are hospitalized. A march in solidarity is planned in San Jose on the same day that Tommie is slated to break a record at a track meet. He decides to compete and sets his first world record, running 220 yards in 20 seconds (128).

That night, Tommie joins marchers in Sunnyvale. One of the leaders of the march acknowledges Tommie’s presence as a world-record holder. Tommie feels like he has discovered a way to help out in the fight for equality, and he is grateful to God for putting him in the race and with the students at the march. As they march, white drivers pass by and yell at them, and Tommie wonders if he and his fellow machers are seen as trouble just because they exist. They continue peacefully on to San Francisco, and Tommie is interviewed by a reporter.

Tommie also gets to know Harry Edwards, who is particularly concerned with the treatment of Black athletes. Edwards believes that America takes advantage of Black athletes, who make universities look good. He warns Tommie to be aware that running might not support him forever.

In January 1965, Black football players selected to play in the annual All-Star game in New Orleans are turned away from hotels and cabs. When they refuse to play, the game is rescheduled for the next day in Houston. Many other professional athletes, like Muhammad Ali, Bill Russell, and Lew Alcindor, speak out against racial discrimination.

During Tommie’s junior and senior years, he breaks several world records. He joins the Olympic Project for Human Rights (OPHR), bringing together Harry Edwards, Ken Noel, and other Black athletes. They question why Black athletes should represent the United States in the 1968 Olympic Games in Mexico City when they aren’t treated well in their home country. Tommie’s friend Lee Evans, another runner, is also involved, and he introduces Tommie to John Carlos.

On campus, Black students have a hard time finding housing, since many white landlords refuse to rent to African Americans. Tommie and his friends try to draw attention to this injustice. Harry gives the administrators at San Jose State a list of demands, and they refuse. The athletes respond by saying that they’ll protest and prevent the football team from playing against the University of Texas at El Paso, delaying the start of the football season. The game is cancelled, showing Black athletes how much power they have.

Tommie runs in the World University Games in Tokyo, taking home first place in one of his events. When he is interviewed, he explains that African Americans are not treated like white Americans and asserts that Black athletes might boycott the Olympics. He starts to receive hate mail, but he, Harry, and others continue to spread the message of the OPHR. They demand that more Black coaches be hired and that segregated South Africa not be allowed to send a team. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. is also present at a conference they attend.

In 1968, they protest in New York. Athletes continue to receive death threats. Lew Alcindor announces that he won’t try out for the Olympic team. In April, Martin Luther King is assassinated. In September, Tommie makes the Olympic team. Some of OPHR’s demands are met, but the president of the International Olympic Committee emphasizes that he does not want to see any protests at the Olympics.

In Mexico, 10 days before the Olympics, the Mexican government opens fire on students protesting in Mexico City. They even cover up the blood on the pavement with new paint before those coming for the game arrive.

Tommie competes in the quarter- and semi-finals for the 200-meter dash. During the semi-final, he briefly worries that someone will try to kill him, but he puts it out of his mind, saying a prayer before the race. He wins, but he pulls a muscle. The coach and athletic trainers, however, help him work through it, preparing him for the final. He goes for a short jog, thinking of his parents, his wife, and his son.

The final begins, and Tommie manages to beat John Carlos, setting a new world record. Carlos finishes third. The two runners then know it’s their time to act. They take off their shoes, showing black socks to represent those living in poverty. John unzips his jacket to symbolize hardworking people trying to get by, which was against Olympic regulations. They each wear an item around their neck to honor those who had been lynched in America. Peter Norman, who was receiving the silver medal, also got an Olympic Project for Human Rights button so that he could match Tommie and John.

The three finishers receive their gold, silver, and bronze medals, and with a black leather glove on one hand, Tommie and John raise their fists above their head while the United States national anthem plays. As the anthem plays, Tommie prays, dedicating his action to everyone hoping for a better, safer life. They chose to show their defiance since people were not listening to the needs of Black Americans across America.