Rafer Johnson attended his first track meet as a teenager. He thought to himself, "What's the big deal with this?, I could have won this." So that inspired him to go into training for the Decathlon. He went on to participate in the 1960 Olympics and he won the gold medal in the Decathlon.

Rafer Johnson came into prominence during the 1960 Olympics, and because he was a Negro, we followed his events. When he arrived home, he was a hero. But even before then, for a Black man to carry the country's colors during the processional, was a big deal. So everybone's eyes were on Johnson from the start of the Olympics until the finish. The Negro community celebrated him.

Johnson was also one of the unofficial bodyguards of Robert F. Kennedy. He was at the Ambassador Hotel on the night of the assasination, he instrumental in apprehending Sirhan Sirhan.