A white hero for black Australia

Richard Bell speaks through art with a political voice that often communicates justice issues, sometimes with overt confrontational imagery and at other times with humour that reflects the ability to laugh in the face of adversity. In the collaborative painting A white hero for black Australia (2011) Bell in collaboration with Emory Douglas, an artist and former Minister of Culture for the Black Panther Party from 1967 until its closure in the early 1980s, celebrate the bravery of three young athletes: a white Australian, Peter Norman, and two African Americans, Tommy Smith and John Carlos. The athletes stood together in solidarity at their 1968 Olympic Games award ceremony – Smith won the 200-metre race in a world record time and was awarded the gold medal, with Norman in second place winning silver and Carlos in third winning bronze. On the podium, Smith and Carlos raised their fists in a ‘black power salute’ while Norman wore an Olympic Project for Human Rights badge to communicate his support.