the red salute, whereas in the United States it is widely known as the Black Power salute due to use by many African-American activists. The Rotfrontkämpferbund paramilitary organization of Communist Party of Germany used the right hand fist salute as early as 1924. By this time, the Soviet Union had already established the use of a traditional Russian military salute. During the Spanish Civil War, it was sometimes known as the anti-fascist salute. A letter from the Spanish Civil War stated: "...the raised fist which greets you in Salud is not just a gesture—it means life and liberty being fought for and a greeting of solidarity with the democratic peoples of the world." At the 1968 Summer Olympics in Mexico City, medal winners John Carlos and Tommie Smith gave the raised fist salute during the American national anthem as a sign of black power, and as a protest on behalf of the Olympic Project for Human Rights. They were banned from further Olympic activities by the IOC, as the rules then in place prohibited any political statements at the Olympics. The event was one of the most overtly political statements in the history of the modern Olympic Games. Tommie Smith stated in his autobiography, "Silent Gesture", that the salute was not a Black Power salute, but in fact a human rights salute. Nelson Mandela also used the clenched right fist salute upon his release from Victor Verster Prison in 1990. The raised right fist is used by officials in People's Republic of China when being sworn into office. Psychologist Oliver James has suggested that the appeal of the salute is that it allows the individual to indicate that they "intend to meet malevolent, massive institutional force with force of (their) own", and that they are bound in struggle with others against common oppression. See also 1968 Olympics Black Power salute 1972 Olympics Black Power salute Ave Ave Imperator, morituri te salutant Bellamy salute Bras d'honneur Civil disobedience Far-left politics Black Lives Matter Movement Hands up, don't shoot Heil og sæl Lal Salam Olympic salute Protests of 1968 Three-finger salute (Serbian) Rabia sign References External links A brief history of the 'clenched fist' image Bitter price of Olympics' iconic image – from Los Angeles Daily News India Faces Maoist 'Red Salute' – from BBC World News Aryan Fist article – from the Anti-Defamation League Jenna Amatulli: The Raised Fist Emoji Is