Colin McCormick
Dr. Steph Brown
ENGL 306
15 September 2016
Rhetoric
of Protest
Throughout history people have used the symbol of a
raised fist to represent a multitude of beliefs such as solidarity, strength,
unity, defiance, and resistance. However this iconic symbol is most likely best
known for representing African Americans during the Civil Rights Movement. One
of the most well-known and historically famous examples of this act of protest
was during the 1968 Mexico City Olympics. During the podium ceremonies in which
African American Tommie Smith took gold, Peter Norman of Australia took silver
and African American John Carlos took bronze, Smith and Carlos both raised
their black gloved fists during the playing of the U.S. national anthem as
Norman stood by with a button that said “Olympic Project for Human Rights”.
During this act of defiance both Smith and Carlos were
attempting to show the world and bring to light the discrimination and inequality
in the United States at the time of the historical Civil Rights Movement. The two
athletes “wore gloves to represent black America, and removed their shoes and wore
black socks to symbolize the poverty of the African black community” (Simon
Burnton, Paragraph 6). By acting out in such a manner on global television, the
two athletes were able to reach millions of people with their message of black
power in America. This act was met with severe criticism from the white
community, and viewed as un-patriotic, the two athletes were kicked off of the
United States. track and field team, as well as sent home and banned from the
Olympics for life. The shaming of these two individuals continued in the United
States among the white community, however the African American community
greeted them as heroes who sacrificed their glory on national television for
the greater cause of civil equality.
A protest with such magnitude occurred during a key point
in the timeline of the Civil Rights Movement. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. had
just been assassinated and the fight for civil liberties in the United States
was raging on yet making headway with President Johnsons signing of the Civil Rights
act of 1968. During a time when full equality seemed so close, Smith and Carlos
decided to act and utilize the world stage that was the Olympics. It was
because of this context that the symbol of protest used resounded so loudly and
made such a big splash in the fight for equality. Such a bold statement was
given traction and notability because of the fear for the black community (at
the time) that revolved around speaking out against the civil beliefs that had
so long been engrained in the United States society.
Both athletes were fully aware that the act which they
displayed would bring a mountain of criticism to their lives, they both also
knew or hoped that such a bold act would spark unity, solidarity, and strength within
the black communities as well as shed light on the inequalities occurring for
the world to see. To wield such a strong symbol while wearing and representing
the United States during these times was essentially Smiths’ and Carlos’ way of
showing that in order for change to occur, there could be no fear or hesitation
because of what might happen and that they themselves were willing to stand in
front of the world to achieve change. Their message of unity and strength also
paid homage to the late Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. due to their protest being
non-violent. Which can be seen as another message they were sending home, to
continue the non-violent protests which one of their most iconic civil rights
leaders fought so hard to maintain. Their use of the different articles such as
‘the fist’, black socks, and black gloves, were meant as symbols to show the
world what exactly they were protesting for.
The
‘fist’ that both athletes held up had been used for many different groups in
different times, however during the Civil Rights Movement the ‘fist’ stood for
a collective and united black community. African Americans everywhere during
this time brandished the ‘fist’ and used it during their protests against the
inequalities they were facing. Therefore when Smith and Carlos raised their
fists, they were attempting to evoke an emotional response not only from the
black community but from the world. By utilizing the setting of the Olympics
they were able to reach hundreds of viewers and send their message in a way
that sparked controversy, and also showed the true nature of their protest. The
use of their symbolic elements affected all who viewed the ceremony and was a
direct use of pathos to attempt and make the viewers in support of the Civil
Rights Movement feel united, confident, and strong. The winning of the race
itself can be even be seen as a strategy used by Smith and Carlos to appeal to
the masses, showing that African Americans could achieve great accomplishments
and voice their opinions through peaceful civil disobedience, which the two
could not have done without winning and receiving medals.
Although
immediately after, both men were ‘shamed’ by certain communities upholding
their bigoted beliefs, the two men were able to speak out against the
injustices occurring during this time. The famous photo showing the two men
with raised fists was and is historically famous as an act of protest and still
talked about and viewed to this day. It has also continued to be used by
prominent figures around the world, however it has been most notably used by
people and groups such as, Nelson Mandela after his release from prison in
1990, the Black Lives Matter movement, and even most recently political figure
Bernie Sanders. Although the meanings may have been slightly altered to fit the
context of the situation, the iconic image of the ‘fist’ resonates as a symbol
for solidarity, strength, and defiance no matter what the cause. Due to the
widespread use of this symbol even currently, both men were successful in
creating a protest and image which has had a lasting effect on the outcome of U.S.
history.
Works Cited
Burnton, Simon. “50
Stunning Olympic Moments No13: Tommie Smith and John Carlos
Salute.”
Theguardian. Guardian News and Media
Limited, 8 Feb. 2012. Web. 15 Sept. 2016. < https://www.theguardian.com/sport/blog/2012/feb/08/olympic-moments-tommie-smith-john-carlos>.
Chadbourn, Margaret. “A
Look at the History of the Clenched Fist.” ABC
News. ABC News
Network,
11 May 2016. Web. 15 Sept. 2016. < http://abcnews.go.com/News/history-clenched-fist/story?id=39006994>
“Civil Rights Chronology.”
The Leadership Conference. The Leadership
Conference on Civil
and
Human Rights, 2001. Web. 15 Sept. 2016. http://www.civilrights.org/resources/civi
lrights101/chronology.html.
lrights101/chronology.html.
Cosgrove, Ben. “The Black Power Salute That Rocked the 1968
Olympics. Time. Time, 27 Sept.
2014.
Web. 15 Sept. 2016. < http://time.com/3880999/black-power-salute-tommie-smith-and-john-carlos-at-the-1968-olympics/>
You did a good job on elucidating the purpose of this piece of protest. Do you think that the intended audience was beyond the black community, or had much positive effects outside of minorities? I haven't researched this object in depth myself. This was a very turbulent time for civil rights movements, but this paper seems to polarize the reception as white-shaming and black acceptance. But for the 60s that is probably the case anyway I don't know. The positive effects and consequences for their protest are clearly outlined, so information regarding the audience os strongly implied and I don't think they're especially missed among readers here. It might be good to insert vocabulary specific to these concepts, though, if you think it can be done without sacrificing the fluency in reading.
ReplyDeleteThe symbolism in the protest and your description of it adequately described the use of pathos. And the time period / event this took place in provides a very clear context. Perhaps there is room for more description of the use of ethos when put in perspective of other civil rights events that also used this gesture.
Overall I think this meets the purpose of the assignment and i like how all the paragraphs are symmetric and relatively equal in size. Makes it really easy to read. You could expand a little, maybe, on the use of ethos / pathos / logos, but it depends how you want to argue it. As for outlining the intended audience you could use more specific terms or word it more directly but I wouldn't say that things are presented ambiguously here.
Solid paper.
This was a very well written paper with great points. How you identified the object's main rhetorical strategies with pathos was good and gave us reader's the exact information we need to understand in what direction you intended for your analysis to go.
ReplyDeleteI did not see a paragraph in which you stated the kind of audience that your analysis would appeal to.
This might be for aesthetic reasons, i'm not sure.
The way in which you described the use of pathos in these monumental events was spot on.
I do believe that your paper was written on a global level as your organization is strong enough that any correcting should just be done within your paragraphs. The events that occurred and the outcome were made apparent throughout your whole paper and there wasn't a time where I felt like you went off the tracks. The outcome of the protests was evident.
Maybe you could talk about the ethos of the 1960's and why it was made such a big deal (in that time period). In this tempestuous time peiod there was a lot of stuff going on especially for civil rights protests and I belive with this knowledge you could take in to consideration expanding on these strong ideas to kind of make the essay stronger (although it is already an excellent rhetorical analysis).
I think that the prose style was good. The grammatical structure was good and straight forward. The essay itself was very captivating as your introduction does a good job of stating a brief description of the history or where the fist began to get attention and quickly moves into the body of the text. This analysis definitely makes me want to keep reading and is appropriate for the genre.
Your paper is definitely engaging, clear and meets all of the requirements for this assignment. Good job
Hey Colin, great paper overall. I understood who the audience was, the context of your object, and its purpose. However, I didn’t see too much of the paper going over appeals to E/P/L. Your description of the use of pathos in the third to last paragraph was great, but I think that you could have gone more in depth and discussed the two other appeals. Even if you don’t think that ethos or logos were used, maybe talk about why not? Or discuss why pathos was tailored to be appropriate for the intended audience, and how its use might have influence a possible any possible unintended audiences. I think you have a really cool audience. For example, their position in the Olympics not only gave them the opportunity to reach a wide audience, but it also put them in a position of authority. You could talk about logos here, and maybe how the use of logos in this somewhat unorthodox fashion changes how effective it is in persuading the audience.
ReplyDeleteI really liked the organization of your paper, but you have a lot of background information and not as much analysis. I would either cut down some of the background information, if you think there is any in your paper that doesn’t necessarily support your claims, or add more rhetorical analysis. By rearranging the rhetorical analysis, or addressing it in the introduction, it’ll become a more prominent feature in your paper. I said a similar thing to Micah, if you specifically look at your paper for where are my claims, where are my reasons, where my explanations, then you can better see how your paper should be structured.
My Revision Plan:
ReplyDelete-I am going to work on my citations, a lot, and make sure i have the correct in text citations, as well as a perfectly formatted works cited.
-Incorporate and talk about the black power movement at the time.
-Remove any fluff or unclear verbiage within my essay.
-I am going to remove any bias or 'reading' of the situation from my paper.
-Give more evidence for the examples and statements i have made.