John Carlos

Acting

John Carlos

Born 1945-06-05 · Harlem, New York, USA

John Wesley Carlos is an American former track and field athlete and professional football player. He was the bronze-medal winner in the 200 meters at the 1968 Summer Olympics, where he displayed the Black Power salute on the podium with Tommie Smith.

Acting credits

Stand poster
3.2

Raw and unflinching examination of the courageous life of basketball star and social justice activist Mahmoud Abdul-Rauf. Born Chris Jackson, he overcame tremendous adversity to reach the NBA and found his true calling when he converted to Islam. His decision not to stand for the national anthem, however, turned him from prodigy to pariah. Told candidly by Abdul-Rauf himself more than 20 years later it’s the remarkable story of one man who kept the faith and paved the way for a social justice movement.

Stand

2023

Fists of Freedom: The Story of the '68 Summer Games poster
7.8

Fists of Freedom examines one of the 20th century’s most memorable moments — the dramatic “Black Power” demonstration of American sprinters Tommie Smith and John Carlos on the victory stand at the 1968 Summer games in Mexico City. Using rare footage, archival photos and interviews with key figures from the era, revisit a pivotal event in American history.

Fists of Freedom: The Story of the '68 Summer Games

1999

O.J.: Made in America poster
8.4

A chronicle of the rise and fall of O.J. Simpson, whose high-profile murder trial exposed the extent of American racial tensions, revealing a fractured and divided nation.

O.J.: Made in America

2016

The Price of Protest poster
7.6

United States, September 1st, 2016. American football player Colin Kaepernick kneels during the national anthem, protesting police brutality against black people. Part of the population regards the gesture as an unacceptable affront to the flag. Later, he loses his place on his team. Today, however, he is considered by many as a true hero.

The Price of Protest

2019

Behind the Shield: The Power and Politics of the NFL poster
NR

Celebrated author and Nation magazine sports editor Dave Zirin tackles the myth that the NFL was somehow free of politics before Colin Kaepernick and other Black NFL players took a knee.

Behind the Shield: The Power and Politics of the NFL

2022

1968 poster
NR

At the 1968 Mexico City Olympics, the silent protest of Tommie Smith and John Carlos changed The Games forever, becoming one of the defining images of the 20th century.

1968

2018

Malcolm X poster
6.7

James Earl Jones narrates this fascinating and moving documentary about the life of the assassinated black leader through various sources.

Malcolm X

1972

Black Power Salute poster
NR

A film about one of the most iconic images of the 20th century, the moment when the radical spirit of the 1960s upstaged the greatest sporting event in the world. Two men made a courageous gesture that reverberated around the world, and changed their lives forever. This film is about Tommie Smith and John Carlos' protest at the 1968 Olympics.

Black Power Salute

2008

With Drawn Arms poster
5.4

The story behind a critical moment in American history, spawning one of most iconic images of protest from the past century. At the 1968 Summer Olympics in Mexico City, the world watched as two American runners, Tommie Smith and John Carlos, took the stage as the U.S. national anthem played, raising their fists in a symbol of black struggle and solidarity.

With Drawn Arms

2020

The Stand: How One Gesture Shook the World poster
4.0

It is one of the most iconic images of our time: two African-American medal winners at the 1968 Olympics standing in silent protest with heads bowed and fists raised as “The Star Spangled Banner” is played. This documentary film is a revealing exploration into the circumstances that led runners Tommie Smith and John Carlos to that historic moment at the Mexico City Games, mining the great personal risks they took and the subsequent fallout they endured.

The Stand: How One Gesture Shook the World

2020

Salute poster
6.7

The black power salute by Tommie Smith and John Carlos at the 1968 Mexico Olympics was an iconic moment in the US civil rights struggle. Far less known is the part in that episode in history played by Peter Norman, the white Australian on the podium who had run second — and the price paid afterward by all three athletes.

Salute

2008