Two black athletes make the Black Power Salute " when they bow and raise a black gloved hand as the American National Anthem played during the victory ceremony for the 200m final in Mexico" as a silent protest against racial discrimination in the United during the Mexico Olympics Ceremony. On the 17th they were both sent home by the U.S.A. national team and many were upset that politics had been bought into the Olympics.

Members of OPEC announced an oil embargo and that they would discontinue all oil shipments to those countries that supported Israel in its war against Syria and would decrease oil production by 5 per cent a month until Israel gave up all territory it seized in the 1967 war and restores the rights of the Palestinian refugees. As oil prices rose American consumers sought out more fuel efficient cars mostly from Japanese car makers whose cars gave nearly twice the miles per gallon as the existing American built cars did.