Peter Norman Day Street Party

As I mentioned in my previous post, there was a street party organised for early this evening to celebrate Peter Norman Day, and to also circulate a petition to ask the council to amend the high noise barriers lining the laneway where the famous mural (below) stands, so that it can be seen from the trains that run alongside the laneway (as used to be the case).

To quote from this events page:

"Peter Norman 1942-2006

At the 1968 Olympics Tommie Smith, Peter Norman and John Carlos made history, two black Americans each with their head bowed raised a black gloved hand, as Norman the silver medalist, stood looking directly ahead. All wore human rights badges. Smith and Carlos paid an immediate price.

They were immediately withdrawn from the relays and expelled from the Olympic village. Peter Norman who is the last Australian male sprinter to win an Olympic medal was snubbed on his return to Australia and failed to be selected for the 1972 Munich Olympic team despite his amazing sprinting talent. He was not invited to any of the Sydney 2000 Olympic ceremonies but on being invited to speak in the U.S refused to bad mouth the Sydney Olympic authority.

During the Sydney Olympics, a reporter from the Washington Post was amazed to find only one reference to Norman- an image on the side of a house in Redfern. Peter Norman died in 2006 and since then his nephew Matthew has produced a film called "Salute".

The U.S Track and Field federation declared October 9th as Peter Norman Day. It's time to put this date on our local calendar and celebrate Peter Norman's humble protest that touched the world and became such a powerful and inspiring image."

In classic Newtown fashion the event was a mix of old, young, dogs and kids, with more than a few local residents chatting and having a few beers, and even a bit of music thrown in. It seemed to be mostly residents who knew each other, so I signed the petition and left after sitting and listening to the music for a little while. It was a nice little something different to do on a late Thursday afternoon.

I strolled back through Newtown, shot a few more pics as the late afternoon sun faded, treated myself to a bit of take-away for dinner, and strolled home through the off-lead dog park - may favourite route. A bag full of take-away and a bunch of off-lead dogs... one word: POPULAR.

[Click any of the pics to see them bigger on Flickr.]