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Becoming involved in sports and traveling the world and seeing how people of color were treated around the world, and America being such a great nation, probably the greatest nation in the world, I think that the thing that would destroy this nation more than anything is the inequality that we have amongst people of color.

John Carlos

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John Carlos
Age: 79
Born: 1945
Born: June 5
American Football Player
Athletics Competitor
Canadian Football Player
Olympic Athlete
Sprinter
New York City
New York
John Wesley Carlos
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More quotes by John Carlos

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Peter [Norman] never denounced us, he never turned his back on us, he never walked away from us, he never said one thing against what he stood for in Mexico City, and that was freedom, justice and equality for all God's people.
John Carlos
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The beginning don't matter. The end don't matter. All that matters is what you do in between...the greatest reward is to know that you did your job when you were here on the planet.
John Carlos
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I was a pallbearer. I felt, when I got the call that Peter had died, I didn't have any bank account, but I felt I needed to start walking then because there was no way in the world I would miss Peter Norman's service.
John Carlos
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[Peter Norman]was born and raised under the auspices of his mom and dad being involved in the Salvation Army. He believed in humanity. At all costs, he believed in humanity.
John Carlos
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Peter Norman is a humanitarian, and I say is because in my life, Peter Norman is never deceased. He's always going to live with me.
John Carlos
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How can you ask someone to live in the world and not have something to say about injustice?
John Carlos
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[Sport officials] blocked their support of us. But those individuals [ Muhammad Ali, the Jim Browns, the Bill Russells, Kareem Abdul Jabbar ] were old enough, they were wise enough, and they knew their history and this is why they came out in support of us, because they knew that we had our finger on the right move.
John Carlos
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I'm sure there was people in Australia that told Peter Norman that hey, man, you shouldn't have done what you did, you shouldn't have gotten involved in those individuals, it wasn't your business.
John Carlos
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Muhammad Ali, the Jim Browns, the Bill Russells, Kareem [Abdul Jabbar ], these individuals supported us, but yet still, when you sit back and say the coverage that was done relative to their support was very shallow.
John Carlos
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It was like when we went to Mexico City [Olympics in 1968] it was sun and shining and bright. When we came home it was chaotic and storms everywhere. I think the most devastating thing was to make the adjustment as to why so many individuals that you grew up with in the sport thought it necessary to turn their backs and walk away from you.
John Carlos
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Rosie Grier was the springboard to the return of my life.
John Carlos
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I think society had to grow up to the mentality of Peter Norman.
John Carlos
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It stands for diversity. It stands for vision and strength. It stands for belief in the right things. That's what I think it stands for.
John Carlos
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It took some time for us to realize that [people] didn't particularly say they didn't like us or have the love for us that they had in the past, nor the respect. I think they chose to leave based on the fact that they felt a reprisal for being associated or having a friendship with John Carlos or Tommie Smith, or Peter Norman, for that matter.
John Carlos
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Fortunately for me, I was able to see the newspaper and saw that they were hiring in a new program called the Cedar Program, and I recall going to one of my Olympic buddies and saying, Hey, man, this might be a shot in the arm for us. Let's go down and apply for these Cedar jobs.I took a job as a gardener caretaker.
John Carlos
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It's many things that she had to deal with, and she got to the point where [my wife] didn't know what to believe anymore and she just didn't care to live her life anymore. I think it was devastating at that particular time, and it's even more devastating today as we grow older.
John Carlos
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I think it's something that we said collectively, in terms of the fact that we was getting ready to face probably the biggest storms of our life, and we had to stand strong for what we believe in and carry on the legacy we just laid down for society.
John Carlos
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The bottom line is, if you stay home, your message stays home with you. If you stand for justice and equality, you have an obligation to find the biggest possible megaphone to let your feelings be known. Don't let your message be buried and don't bury yourself.
John Carlos
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Like I tell everyone, I say the bottom line to my life is that I've gone through torments in my life, but it made me stronger. I haven't lost my mind, I haven't become a dope fiend, I'm not a drug pusher, I'm not a stick-up man.
John Carlos
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I think Peter Norman recuperated in the sense that people who knew who Peter Norman was, he built his character around the legacy of his family, in terms of what they taught him about equality and justice for all.
John Carlos