December 1967: See You In Mexico City

See You In Mexico City

(Track & Field News, December 1967)

by Cordner Nelson, editor

The first point I'd like to make in answer to the many questions asked me about the Negro boycott of the Olympic team is that it is none of my business what free individuals do in a in a free country as long as they do not hurt other people.

Therefore, if Tommie Smith, for example, steps aside and lets somebody else run in his place at Mexico City, it is his privilege. He would hurt nobody but himself. On the other hand, if six Negro sprinters make the final of our Final Trials and then announce they will not compete, they have done deliberate harm to other people, i.e., the eliminated athletes who are willing to compete and the officials who must gather these athletes together for another meet.

Keeping that distinction in mind, I'd like to discuss one aspect of the boycott which IS my concern. I make it my concern, exactly as I make it my concern to notify my neighbor if I see his house burning.

I am concerned shout the possibility of a boycott. Harry Edwards, leader and self-styled originator of the boycott, announced unanimous approval of his plan by 2000 young Negroes at a Black Youth Conference in Los Angeles; Edwards says all US Negro athletes will stay away from the Olympics.

Second, I say "a few" because I am concerned mainly with track & field men. I believe only shout 20 Negroes can make that team: I say "fine young Negroes" because they are, with rare exceptions, far above the average citizen in the virtues of cleanliness, ambition, integrity, good humor, courage, etc. And most of them are in their teens or early twenties.

When I use the word "influenced," I mean everything from persuasion through the emotions or intellect all the way to intimidation by threats of force or the shame of being called a traitor to their race.

The size of the sacrifice may be greater than you, or they, think. Track fans can argue at length with strength of both sides, whether a world record or an Olympic championship is most important, but to the general public there is no comparison. Who except a track fan would recognize the name Jesse Owens if he had not been in the Berlin Olympics? Many Olympic champions, white and black, have had jobs of extra worth and importance because of the publicity they received. And it seems to me this extra acclaim and acceptance is of more value to a Negro than to a white. All 20 Negroes will not win Olympic championships, of course, but a place on the team is valued more highly by most athletes than a national championship, and it is the individual athlete's desire which is being sacrificed.

I call this sacrifice unfair not only because it is an extremely large one, but because there are so few being asked to make it. If Willie Mays volunteered to give up his $100,000 salary, and all other Negroes made sacrifices up to the limit of their ability, including the big entertainment stars, then they would all be on the same level. But to ask a handful of dedicated amateurs to give up their one chance at great recognition is unfair to them. Harry Edwards should, at the very least, join them in the sacrifice by giving up his profession, although that sacrifice would not be as great as theirs.

This tongue-in-cheek suggestion is purely academic and it is made simply to point out the "dubious value." How can this kind of negative thinking possibly advance the cause of civil rights for Negroes? If nobody had ever heard of the problem, this sort of dramatic protest might do some good, although it would still be like cutting off your nose to call attention to your need for affection. This tiny protest would add nothing to the large protest already being made. I doubt if a single person in the United States would change his opinion because of such a boycott. I know of several already whose opinions of Negroes are lower because of such a threat. Thus, far from helping the cause, this boycott will, if anything, lessen the desire of whites to help. Many people, white and black, believe the Negro can beat help his cause by a combination of non-violent protest and energetic self-improvement.

To ask these few young Olympic hopefuls to give up all the self-improving work they have done is negativism of the highest degree. Does anyone in his right mind really believe such a surrender would help Negroes more than the positive efforts of such great men as Ralph Boston, Rafer Johnson, Hayes Jones, Ralph Metcalfe…? A reputation for high crime rates and low work reliability can never be wiped out by negative methods; only positive progress can do the job.

Therefore, I want to appeal for a strong defense against any undue influence by Harry Edwards and his followers. One way I can do this is by referring you to the opinions of some famous Negro competitors, past and present. These quotations maybe read in an adjacent column. I am particularly moved and inspired by Ralph Boston, the wise senior citizen of contemporary track stars, who said, "I don't feel I can go along with the boycott," and be strong-minded Charlie Greene who says courageously, "I'm going to run."

Other outstanding Negroes concur, all of them older, more experienced, and wiser than the hotheads. Among them are Art Walker, Tennessee A&I coach Ed Temple, and former Dodger pitching great Don Newcombe, who says the boycott will hurt the Negro cause. "I've traveled to many nations," he said, "and I don't know of any other country as great as the United States."

And so that is what I want to say even though my words will not carry as much weight. I want to communicate directly with you, John Carlos, and you, Henry Jackson and Thurman Boggess and Jesse Ball and Charley Craig and Willie Davenport and Willie Turner and all the rest who might make the Olympic team. I want to say this: Don't let yourself be persuaded by an angry young man with a chip on his shoulder, a man who does not have the experience of working hard to develop a great athletic talent. Don't be persuaded or intimidated merely because you are alone out there in Texas or Kentucky or Louisiana. Before you makeup your mind, listen, too, to what other have to say on the subject.

Check out the facts misrepresented by Harry Edwards. (For example, I included athletes on his side who have since denied it. He said the United States is worse than South Africa, which is untrue, especially in track, since Negro athletes in South Africa cannot run in the same meet as whites.) Listen to older and wiser Negro leaders. Let's find out what advice you would receive from Ralph Bunche, Martin Luther King and Senator Brooke. In other words, keep cool; you have plenty of time to make up your minds.

I know I'll be attacked for my position on this, and some black people will say my words carry no weight because I'm white. It is a matter of history however, that I chewed out the AAU several years ago because they never gave the Sullivan Award to a Negro. The next two winners were Mal Whitfield and Harrison Dillard, and later winners were Rafer Johnson and Wilma Rudolph. Don't forget, Willie and Henry and all the test of you: I'm an authority on part of this question, for I can state without any legitimate contradiction that a white man can like black men… and want a fair shake for them.

I hope to see you in Mexico City.