It is important to note during the year of 1968 that the whole world was facing social and political conflicts. There was the assassination of Robert Kenney as well as Martin Luther King Jr. Vietnam War, the student deaths in Mexico. Even Australia had its own struggles, whereby its Aboriginal inhabitants and the white immigrants had problems and it would seem that suddenly the decision was made that there wasn’t enough space in Australia to have both people in such little land-space together.
Beginning in the 1850s, along with Australia’s very own gold rush decade, the population increased to the point where restrictions on immigration had to be implemented, especially in regards to Chinese immigration. During this time is when there can be see a mistreatment towards Aboriginal, thus making their numbers decline. This is important to note in regards to the occurrence of the 1968 Olympic Games, as the stance Norman, Smith, and Carlos took reflected some of the problems taking place in Australia at the time.