---
title: "Tommie Smith — AP African American Studies Definition"
description: "Tommie Smith raised a Black Power fist at the 1968 Olympics to protest racial discrimination. Learn how this nonviolent protest is tested in AAS Topic 4.19."
canonical: "https://fiveable.me/ap-african-american-studies/key-terms/tommie-smith"
type: "key-term"
subject: "AP African American Studies"
unit: "Unit 4"
---

# Tommie Smith — AP African American Studies Definition

## Definition

Tommie Smith was the American sprinter who, after winning gold in the 200 meters at the 1968 Mexico City Olympics, raised a black-gloved fist alongside John Carlos during the medal ceremony, a nonviolent protest against racial discrimination and a show of solidarity with the Black Freedom movement.

## What It Is

Tommie Smith is the Olympic sprinter at the center of one of the most famous protest images in American history. At the 1968 Mexico City Olympics, Smith won the 200-meter dash, and during the medal ceremony he and fellow medalist [John Carlos](/ap-african-american-studies/key-terms/john-carlos "fv-autolink") bowed their heads and raised black-gloved fists as the national anthem played. The raised fist was a [Black Power](/ap-african-american-studies/unit-4/11-the-black-panther-party-for-selfdefense/study-guide/OutbdTcb0vtWaJwt "fv-autolink") salute, and the protest was deliberately nonviolent. It put the contradiction of representing a country that denied Black Americans full equality on a global stage, in front of a worldwide television audience.

For [AP African American Studies](/ap-african-american-studies "fv-autolink"), Smith belongs to a long tradition the CED traces in Topic 4.19. Black athletes have used their public platforms to contest discrimination and advocate for racial equality (EK 4.19.B.1). Smith and Carlos faced immediate backlash for the protest, including expulsion from the Games, which is exactly the kind of consequence the exam expects you to know. The point isn't just the image. It's what the image cost them and what it signaled about athlete activism in the Black Freedom movement.

## Why It Matters

Tommie Smith lives in **Topic 4.19 (African Americans and Sports)** in **[Unit 4](/ap-african-american-studies/unit-4 "fv-autolink"): Movements and Debates**, and he directly supports learning objective **AP African American Studies 4.19.B**, which asks you to explain how African American athletes in the twentieth and twenty-first centuries have contested discrimination and advocated for racial equality. Smith is the CED's go-to example of athlete activism in the Black Power era. He sits in a chain that runs from [Jack Johnson](/ap-african-american-studies/key-terms/jack-johnson "fv-autolink") and Jesse Owens breaking barriers, through Muhammad Ali refusing the Vietnam draft in 1967, to Colin Kaepernick kneeling in 2016. If you can place Smith in that chain, you can answer almost any question about the tradition of Black athletic activism.

## Connections

### [John Carlos (Unit 4)](/ap-african-american-studies/key-terms/john-carlos)

Carlos stood on the same podium and raised his fist alongside Smith. The CED always pairs them, so treat the 1968 protest as a two-person act, not a solo moment. Both men faced the same consequences.

### [Muhammad Ali (Unit 4)](/ap-african-american-studies/key-terms/muhammad-ali)

One year before Smith's protest, Ali refused to enlist for the Vietnam War, saying 'The real enemy of my people is right here.' Ali and Smith show the same pattern of star athletes sacrificing careers to call out [racism](/ap-african-american-studies/unit-4/1-the-ngritude-and-negrismo-movements/study-guide/eK9QyiGxxk1iteQm "fv-autolink") at home.

### [Colin Kaepernick (Unit 4)](/ap-african-american-studies/key-terms/colin-kaepernick)

Kaepernick kneeling during the anthem in 2016 is the twenty-first-century echo of Smith's raised fist. Exam questions love this continuity, asking which historical tradition Kaepernick's protest reflects. The answer runs straight through 1968.

### Jesse Owens and the 1936 Berlin Olympics (Unit 4)

Owens challenged racism by winning, letting his four [gold](/ap-african-american-studies/unit-1/2-the-african-continent-a-varied-landscape/study-guide/L3yyHr3J5cbNL1pD "fv-autolink") medals undercut Nazi ideology. Smith challenged racism by protesting, using the podium itself as a stage. Together they show two different strategies Black Olympians used on the world stage.

## On the AP Exam

Tommie Smith shows up in multiple-choice questions in three predictable ways. First, identification: questions ask which approach to racial justice activism the 1968 protest exemplifies (answer: nonviolent protest using a public platform, tied to the Black Power movement). Second, consequences: questions ask what happened to Smith and Carlos immediately afterward, so know they were punished and expelled from the Games rather than celebrated. Third, continuity: questions connect the 1968 protest forward to Colin Kaepernick or backward to Muhammad Ali and Jesse Owens. For short-answer or project work, Smith is strong evidence for LO 4.19.B, the claim that Black athletes used their visibility to advocate for racial equality. Don't just describe the fist. Explain what it communicated and what it cost.

## Tommie Smith vs Jesse Owens

Both are Black American Olympic track stars, but they're separated by 32 years and by strategy. Owens protested racism implicitly at the 1936 Berlin Olympics by dominating in front of Hitler, letting his performance make the argument. Smith protested explicitly at the 1968 Mexico City Olympics by raising a Black Power fist during the anthem. If a question is about achievement undermining racist ideology, that's Owens. If it's about deliberate, symbolic protest on the medal stand, that's Smith.

## Key Takeaways

- Tommie Smith won gold in the 200 meters at the 1968 Mexico City Olympics and raised a black-gloved fist with John Carlos during the medal ceremony.
- The raised fist was a nonviolent protest against racial discrimination and a gesture of solidarity with the Black Freedom movement.
- Smith and Carlos faced immediate punishment for the protest, including expulsion from the Olympic Games, showing the personal cost of athlete activism.
- Smith supports learning objective AP African American Studies 4.19.B, which covers how Black athletes contested discrimination and advocated for racial equality.
- On the exam, Smith anchors a continuity argument that runs from Jesse Owens (1936) through Muhammad Ali (1967) to Colin Kaepernick (2016).

## FAQs

### What did Tommie Smith do at the 1968 Olympics?

After winning gold in the 200-meter dash at the 1968 Mexico City Olympics, Smith raised a black-gloved fist alongside bronze medalist John Carlos during the national anthem. It was a [nonviolent protest](/ap-african-american-studies/unit-4/6-major-civil-rights-organizations/study-guide/4Nt9gVozCJusjVjM "fv-autolink") against racial discrimination and a show of solidarity with the Black Freedom movement.

### Was Tommie Smith's protest violent or part of a violent movement?

No. The CED specifically describes the 1968 podium protest as nonviolent. The raised fist was a Black Power salute, but the act itself was silent and symbolic. Don't let the phrase 'Black Power' trick you into picking a 'militant violence' answer on a multiple-choice question.

### What happened to Tommie Smith and John Carlos after their protest?

They faced immediate backlash and were expelled from the Olympic Games. The exam tests this, so remember the protest was punished at the time, even though it's celebrated today.

### How is Tommie Smith different from Muhammad Ali?

Both used their athletic platforms against racism in the late 1960s, but differently. Ali refused to enlist in the Vietnam War in 1967, citing religion and racism at home, while Smith staged a silent visual protest on the Olympic medal stand in 1968. Ali's was an act of refusal; Smith's was an act of symbolic display.

### How does Tommie Smith connect to Colin Kaepernick?

Kaepernick's 2016 decision to kneel during the national anthem reflects the same tradition of nonviolent athlete protest that Smith and Carlos established in 1968. Exam questions frequently ask you to identify this continuity across the twentieth and twenty-first centuries.

## Related Study Guides

- [4.19 African Americans and Sports](/ap-african-american-studies/unit-4/19-african-americans-and-sports/study-guide/24ZHPg1RpUXznVdn)

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