Players or Pawns?: Student-Athletes, Human Rights Activism, Nonviolent Protest and Cultures of Peace at the 1968 Summer Olympics by Christopher William Hrynkow A Thesis submitted to the Faculty of Graduate Studies of The University of Manitoba in partial fulfillment of the requirements of the degree of DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY Doctoral Program in Peace and Conflict Studies Arthur V. Mauro Centre for Peace and Justice Saint Paul’s College, University of Manitoba Winnipeg, Manitoba July, 2013 Copyright © 2013 by Christopher William Hrynkow ii THE UNIVERSITY OF MANITOBA FACULTY OF GRADUATE STUDIES ***** COPYRIGHT PERMISSION Players or Pawns?: Student-Athletes, Human Rights Activism, Nonviolent Protest and Cultures of Peace at the 1968 Summer Olympics by Christopher William Hrynkow A Thesis/Practicum submitted to the Faculty of Graduate Studies of The University of Manitoba in partial fulfillment of the requirement of the degree of Doctor of Philosophy Copyright © 2013 by Christopher William Hrynkow Permission has been granted to the Library of the University of Manitoba to lend or sell copies of this thesis/practicum, to the National Library of Canada to microfilm this thesis and to lend or sell copies of the film, and to University Microfilms Inc. to publish an abstract of this thesis/practicum. This reproduction or copy of this thesis has been made available by authority of the copyright owner solely for the purpose of private study and research, and may only be reproduced and copied as permitted by copyright laws or with express written authorization from the copyright owner. iii Table of Contents Abstract .............................................................................................................................. vi Personal Ethnographic Statement and Acknowledgments ................................................. 2 Chapter One—Introduction: Multiple Remarkable Things at Mexico 68 .......................... 7 1.0 Introduction ............................................................................................................... 7 1.1 Sport, the Olympics and 1968 ................................................................................... 8 1.2 Selected General Research Questions ..................................................................... 12 1.3 Significance of Study .............................................................................................. 14 1.4 A Synopsis of This Thesis ...................................................................................... 15 1.5 Conclusion .............................................................................................................. 19 Chapter Two—Literature Review ..................................................................................... 21 2.0 Introduction ............................................................................................................. 21 2.1 Overarching Theoretical Background ..................................................................... 24 2.2 Câmara’s Praxis or Evidence that He Was More than Just a Theorist ................... 29 2.3 A Creative Minority: Shifting the Terms of the Structure versus Agency Debate . 32 2.4 A Case Study Pointing towards Lessons for Conflict Resolution Theory and Best Practices ........................................................................................................................ 33 2.5 Racism, Militarism and Violence ........................................................................... 35 2.6 Awareness of Human Rights and Development of Consciousness ........................ 40 2.7 Solidarity, Transformational Politics, Faith and Nonviolence................................ 55 2.8 Conflict Resolution/Transformation ....................................................................... 80 2.9 A Typological Note on “a PACS Perspective” ....................................................... 85 2.10 Literature Dealing with the Case Study from Other Academic Disciplines ......... 88 2.11 Notes about Other Books Important for the Case Study Written for a Popular Audience ....................................................................................................................... 99 2.12 A Note about the Uniqueness of this Thesis ....................................................... 106 2.13 Conclusion .......................................................................................................... 109 Chapter Three: Methodology and Methods .................................................................... 111 3.0 Introduction ........................................................................................................... 111 3.1 A Note on my General Approach and the Problem of Categorizing Elements of the Story ............................................................................................................................ 116 3.2 Conclusion ............................................................................................................ 125 Chapter Four–The Athletes’ Perception of the Context: Racism and Militarism in the US, Australia and Mexico ...................................................................................................... 127 4.0 Introduction ........................................................................................................... 127 iv 4.1 Racism and Militarism in the US .......................................................................... 129 4.2 Racism and Militarism in Australia ...................................................................... 144 4.3 Racism and Militarism in Mexico......................................................................... 147 4.4 Conclusion ............................................................................................................ 149 Chapter Five—Development of Consciousness, Human Rights and the Moments of Protest: Getting there Athletically and Politically .......................................................... 152 5.0 Introduction ........................................................................................................... 152 5.1 Getting there Athletically ...................................................................................... 152 5.2 Getting there Politically ........................................................................................ 159 5.3 The Moment .......................................................................................................... 170 5.4 The Last Protests ................................................................................................... 178 5.5 Discussion and Conclusion ................................................................................... 182 Chapter Six—Solidarity, Transformational Politics, Faith and Nonviolence ................. 206 6.0 Introduction ........................................................................................................... 206 6.1 Solidarity ............................................................................................................... 208 6.2 Why Not Boycott? ................................................................................................ 218 6.3 Faith ...................................................................................................................... 234 6.4 Nonviolence .......................................................................................................... 244 6.5 Discussion and Conclusion ................................................................................... 257 Chapter Seven—Reaction, Conflict Resolution/Transformation and the Legacy of the Protests ............................................................................................................................ 286 7.0 Introduction ........................................................................................................... 286 7.1 Reaction ................................................................................................................ 287 7.2 Conflict Resolution/Transformation Technique (or Lack Thereof)...................... 298 7.3 Cost for Taking a Stand ........................................................................................ 306 7.4 The Legacy of the Protests .................................................................................... 313 7.5 Discussion and Conclusion ................................................................................... 322 Chapter Eight— Conclusion: Players and Cultures of Peace at Mexico 68 ................... 345 8.0 Introduction ........................................................................................................... 345 8.1 General Findings ................................................................................................... 347 8.2 Suggestions for Future Research and Practice ...................................................... 359 8.3 General Concluding Statement ............................................................................. 362 Bibliography ................................................................................................................... 369 Appendix A: Key Figures Associated with the Story of the Olympic Project for Human Rights .............................................................................................................................. 392 v Appendix B: Interview Questions ..................................................................................