Brother of the Fist: The Passing of Peter Norman

Posted 9 October, 2006 in Politics & Activism, Sports

This is from the always provocative sports writer and cultural commentator Dave Zirin. I don’t see it on his Web site, which is at EdgeOfSports.com. If it gets posted there, I’ll take this down and provide a link. In the meantime, Dave’s words are worth reading:

Brother of the Fist: The Passing of Peter Norman By Dave Zirin

Almost four decades later, the image can still make hairs rise on unsuspecting necks. It’s 1968, and 200 meter gold medalist Tommie Smith stands next to bronze winner John Carlos, their raised black gloved fists smashing the sky on the medal stand in Mexico City. They were Trojan Horses of Rage — bringing the Black
revolution into that citadel of propriety and hypocrisy: the Olympic games.

When people see that image, their eyes are drawn like magnets toward Smith and Carlos, standing in black socks, their heads bowed in controlled concentration.

Less noticed is the silver medalist. He is hardly mentioned in official retrospectives, and people assume him to be a Forrest Gump-type figure, just another of those unwitting witnesses to history who always end up in the back of famous frames. Only the perceptive notice that this seemingly anonymous individual is wearing a rather large button emblazoned with the letters O-P-H-R, standing for the Olympic Project for Human Rights.

Only those who see the film footage notice that he never throws a furtive glance back at fellow medal winners as they raise their fists. He never registers surprise or alarm. At a moment that epitomized the electric shock of rebellion, his gaze is cool, implacable, his back ramrod straight, a fellow soldier proud to stand with his brothers.

Only those who go beyond official history will learn about the true motivations of all three of these men. They wanted the apartheid countries of South African
and Rhodesia to be disallowed from the Olympics. They wanted more coaches of African descent. They wanted the world to know that their success did not mean
racism was now a relic of history. The silver medalist with the white skin stood with Smith and Carlos on every question and it was agreed before the race, that
if the three, as expected, were the ones on the dais, they would stand together: three young anti-racists standing together in struggle.

That silver medalist with the nerves of steel and thirst for justice was Australian runner Peter Norman. Norman died of a heart attack last week at the age of
64 and Monday was put to rest.

Two people who knew the depth and conviction of Norman’s solidarity were the two who acted as lead pallbearers at his funeral: Tommie Smith and John
Carlos. Over the years the three men had stayed connected, welded together by history and the firestorm they all faced when the cameras were turned
off.

The backlash endured by Smith and Carlos is well documented. Less known are Norman’s own travails. He was a pariah in the Australian Olympic world, despite
being a five-time national champion in the 200 meters. He desired to coach the highest levels, yet worked as a Physical Education teacher, the victim of a down
under blacklist.

As John Carlos said, “At least me and Tommie had each other when we came home. When Peter went home, he had to deal with a nation by himself. He never wavered, never denied that he was up there with us for a purpose and he never said ‘I’m sorry’ for his involvement. That’s indicative of who the man was.” ”

When the 2000 Olympics came to Sydney, Norman was outrageously outcast from the festivities, still the invisible man. In a conversation at that time with
sportswriter Mike Wise, Norman was absent of bitterness and wore his ostracism as proudly as that solidarity button from 1968. “I did the only thing I believed was right,” he said to Wise. “I asked what they wanted me to do to help. I couldn’t see why a black man wasn’t allowed to drink out of the same water fountain or sit in the same bus or go to the same schools as a white guy. That was just social injustice that I couldn’t do anything about from where I was, but I certainly abhorred it.”

Norman never strayed from a life of humility. When a sculpture was unveiled of Smith and Carlos last year in California, Norman was left off, the silver medal
platform purposely vacant so others could stand in his place. Smith and Carlos protested it, feeling it fed the false idea of Norman as political bystander. But Norman himself who traveled from Australia to California for the unveiling said, “I love that idea. Anybody can get up there and stand up for something they believe in. I guess that just about says it all.”

Norman didn’t define himself by self-promotion, book deals, or the lecture circuit — only by the quiet pride that he was a part of a movement much bigger
than himself. By happily surrendering his personal glory to the greater good, Norman earned the love and respect of his peers.

As Carlos said about sudden passing of the man his children called Uncle Pete, “Peter was a piece of my life. When I got the call, it knocked the wind out of
me. I was his brother. He was my brother. That’s all you have to know.”

Dave Zirin is the author of “‘What’s My Name Fool?’: Sports and Resistance in the United States” (Haymarket Books) You can receive his column Edge of Sports, every week by e-mailing edgeofsports-subscribe@zirin.com. Contact him at dave@edgeofsports.com.

Iron Man (no, not that one)

Posted 8 October, 2006 in Random Musings, Sports

My good friend Stephanie Lovato sends this from down south:

For those of you who have the OLN network (actually, formerly OLN…it is now “Versus” network or something), Ironman Arizona is being televised tomorrow (Sunday, October 8th) at 3pm ET. It will be aired again on Monday at 4pm, and Wednesday at 5pm (all eastern times). I thought this might be of interest because my brother was the winner there this year (so I am quite proud), and usually they do a pretty good job of making the coverage interesting and fairly quick (a 9 hour race in less than an hour!) Anyway, I know it interferes with football tomorrow, but if you feel like flipping channels to check it out… do it!

Stephanie is very hip and so is her brother, seen below winning the race. So tune in!

A new episode of The Jason Crane Show!

Posted 7 October, 2006 in Podcast, The Jason Crane Show (Updates)

Visit The Jason Crane Show to listen to Episode #13: Nutmeg Democracy. In this show: Jason asks why radio people and podcasters say “we” when they mean “I.” We learn that nutmeg can kill you or drive you mad. Jason kicks up a fuss in Secaucus, New Jersey. And we learn about our host’s recent political conversion.

By the way, you can help out the show by subscribing to it in iTunes. And you can do that with one click of the link below:

East Side Democrats

Posted 5 October, 2006 in Politics & Activism, Rochester

I mentioned before that I’m now the leader of the 24th Legislative District (LD) committee of the Monroe County Democratic Party. Three LDs — 21, 23 and 24 — work together as the East Side Democrats. As of today, we have a new Web site at EastSideDems.com. Give it a look and let me know what you think.

Rochester 1973: Buddy Rich

Posted 4 October, 2006 in Jazz, Music, Rochester

Another good friend, Chuck Ingersoll, sent this along:

Chuck was at this gig, and remembers this about it:

This vid of Buddy Rich at the Top of the Plaza. I was there during this engagement, but I can’t recall if it was the nite they filmed. Buddy at one point ended a set about 9:45. Said he was going to go watch Kojak and would be back after. We all laughed, thinking he’d be back in 20 mins. However, he came back around 11:10 and told us all about Kojak.

Rochester 1963: Midtown Plaza

Posted 4 October, 2006 in Rochester

Here’s a fascinating bit of Rochester history sent to me by my good friend Bob DeRosa. It’s part of a promotional video about Rochester made in 1963. The person who posted it to YouTube runs a Web site about malls, so he edited the video down to this 5:34 clip about Midtown Plaza. Some of what you see in the video still exists (the clock, for example), but most of it is gone, and Midtown Plaza is largely a ghost town.

« Previous Next »