50 years after fists: Who would listen, who would care?
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Two men stood together, utilizing the worldwide platform that only the Olympics can provide, to call attention to the struggle they shared with fellow Americans during a divisive, seemingly intractable period in their country's history.
In 1968, sprinters Tommie Smith and John Carlos raised their black-gloved fists on the medals stand.
In 2018, skier Gus Kenworthy and his boyfriend, Matt Wilkas, made their own calculated statement when they kissed at the bottom of a ski slope .
Smith and Carlos had a captive global audience of hundreds of millions to create international headlines thanks to limited choices in a growing TV culture.