America has been attempting to reach social justice since the beginning of when this country was founded. Whether it has been the injustice of slaves, Japanese-Americans, gays, or African-Americans, America has been slowly developing, learning from our mistakes, and trying to make this a country we all can live in together as one. During the 1960’s was one of America’s greatest fights for human rights, the Civil Rights Movement. During the 1968 Olympic Games in Mexico City, John Dominis captured the powerful image of Tommie Smith and John Carlos, two African-American sprinters, raising black gloved fists on the podium as a silent protest to the treatment of blacks in America. This picture is one of the many instances of the fight for civil
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One viewing the image sees two African-American men standing on the podium as well as a caucasian male. The two black men each have a black gloved fist raised towards the sky. One might assume that this was a sign of pride as their names were called for metaling in their events, however, this was not the case. The two men raised their fists as the American national anthem, usually prompting one to place their right hand over their heart. The photographer chooses to make the focal point of the image the two runners with their fist raised. One does not pay nearly as much attention to the other runner, or the Olympic officials at the bottom of the photo. The photo is appealing to pathos because one can see the emotion of what is taking place, and anyone who knows the background on what happened knows it is a very historic and serious moment. The passion these athletes had for the cause is very noticeable. Most renditions of the photo will be seen in black and white not color. The photographer chose to do so to signify what the picture was about. The runners were urging the country to not see in black and white, and to broaden their view of the world. Therefore Dominis took it in black and white to show what they symbolized. Other than that there was not much the photographer was able to control since the scene took place without any prior knowledge from anyone on what was going to take place during the medal
One viewing the image sees two African-American men standing on the podium as well as a caucasian male. The two black men each have a black gloved fist raised towards the sky. One might assume that this was a sign of pride as their names were called for metaling in their events, however, this was not the case. The two men raised their fists as the American national anthem, usually prompting one to place their right hand over their heart. The photographer chooses to make the focal point of the image the two runners with their fist raised. One does not pay nearly as much attention to the other runner, or the Olympic officials at the bottom of the photo. The photo is appealing to pathos because one can see the emotion of what is taking place, and anyone who knows the background on what happened knows it is a very historic and serious moment. The passion these athletes had for the cause is very noticeable. Most renditions of the photo will be seen in black and white not color. The photographer chose to do so to signify what the picture was about. The runners were urging the country to not see in black and white, and to broaden their view of the world. Therefore Dominis took it in black and white to show what they symbolized. Other than that there was not much the photographer was able to control since the scene took place without any prior knowledge from anyone on what was going to take place during the medal