Preface: I want to make it clear that I’m not trying to diminish anyone’s interest in the Olympic Games, or try to put myself on a pedestal with my views. I simply want to share some information that recently changed my perspective on the games.
Every four years, the globe unites in awe as we watch the greatest athletes in the world compete on the biggest stage in the Summer Olympics. We see world records, pompous ceremonies, and iconic moments we will never forget, all within a celebration of rich and diverse cultures from across the world. My favorite Olympic memory is probably Katie Ledecky’s 800m free at Rio 2016. She won by nearly 12 seconds, shattering the world record that she held previously. This progression is unreal.
Naturally, as the sports enthusiast I am, I decided to learn a bit more about the history of the Olympics. They portray an image of unity and togetherness, but as we all know, there are some dark moments in the games’ past.
You may know about the horrific Anthropology Days from the St. Louis games in 1904. Indigenous people from many different cultures, including Filipinos, Native Americans, and more, competed to see who could most closely emulate the “white man.” Plenty has been said about the 1936 Berlin Olympics held in Nazi Germany. (Note: I see people calling the Paris 2024 Opening Ceremony the worst one in Olympic history. I happen to think 1936 was a bit worse!) It’s quite clear that throughout history, the Olympics have been used as a breeding ground for racism and hate. Just ask their founder, Pierre de Coubertin, what he thinks about people from Africa. However, what often goes under the radar are the modern day ramifications of racism in the Olympics.
In theory, being awarded the Olympic Games should be a good thing for your city: increased tourism, increased revenue, more eyes on the city. But that’s certainly not all it brought to Atlanta in 1996. In order to make way for the Olympics, the city felt they needed to clear the way by removing unhoused people from the area. You have to make sure the city looks good on TV, right?
How did they do this exactly? By criminalizing homelessness. Ordinances were put in place to make it illegal for “suspicious-looking” people to remain in a parking lot (35% of Atlanta’s acreage was parking lots at the time), to beg in an “aggressive” manner, and to enter vacant buildings. The subjectivity by which these laws were enforced gave exactly the intended result — approximately 9,000 homeless people were arrested in 1995 and 1996, and 30,000 were displaced from 1990–1996. Fulton County paid the bill for one-way bus tickets for homeless people. They just had to agree to never return to the city and prove they had a family or job waiting at their destination.
The Atlanta City Detention Center opened up explicitly for the 1996 Olympics. The justification made was to handle the increased number of arrests, primarily of homeless people who were targeted under the new ordinances. Two years ago, the city began planning to transition the detention center to a policing alternative center. Instead, the city signed a 700-bed lease to Fulton County, and it now houses 475 inmates. As of 2021, the jail cost $700,000 per inmate to keep operating.
The U.S.’s oldest federally subsidized public housing project, Techwood Homes, was destroyed for the 1996 Olympic Village. From low-income housing to privately owned, the ATL staple of Techwood became almost unrecognizable.
As the 2024 Paris games get underway, it’s crucial to recognize the dark connection between policing, incarceration, and the Olympics. “Social cleansing” is occurring in Paris, raising concerns from locals and visitors alike. Behind the scenes, cities and the IOC take extreme measures, endangering vulnerable populations to ensure a polished image for the world. With LA 2028 quickly approaching, we need to increase awareness about these issues. More than 46,000 people are currently unhoused in Los Angeles, facing similar fates to the homeless population in Atlanta back in 1996. How do I know this? Well, LA has already done their test run— Super Bowl LVI in February 2022. The city tore down a homeless encampment just a few weeks before the Super Bowl, leaving 60 people without shelter during a pandemic, when 3,000 people were hospitalized in LA County due to COVID. At least the NFL was able to get some cool camera shots, though!
Like I said at the beginning of this article, I am not trying to get you to change your opinion about the Olympics. Just open your eyes a bit. And if you would like to learn more about this topic, I recommend checking out https://nolympicsla.com/ (@NOlympicsLA on X), as well as some more detailed reading that I’ll link below! I’m not an expert on the Olympics, the city of Atlanta, or homelessness, but I thought it was important to shed some light on this aspect of the games.
