Eyes on the Prize
Eyes on the Prize: America's Civil Rights Movement is an American television series and 14-part documentary about the 20th-century civil rights movement in the United States.[1] The documentary originally aired on the PBS network, and it also aired in the United Kingdom on BBC2. Created and executive produced by Henry Hampton at his film production company Blackside, and narrated by Julian Bond, the series uses archival footage, stills, and interviews by participants and opponents of the movement. The title of the series is derived from the title of the folk song "Keep Your Eyes on the Prize", which is used as the opening theme music in each episode.
| Eyes on the Prize | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Also known as | Eyes on the Prize I Eyes on the Prize II |
| Genre | Documentary film |
| Directed by | Orlando Bagwell Sheila Curran Bernard Callie Crossley James A. DeVinney Madison D. Lacy Louis Massiah Thomas Ott Samuel D. Pollard Terry Kay Rockefeller Jacqueline Shearer Paul Stekler Judith Vecchione |
| Narrated by | Julian Bond |
| Opening theme | "Keep Your Eyes on the Prize" |
| Country of origin | United States |
| Original language | English |
| No. of episodes | 14 |
| Production | |
| Executive producer | Henry Hampton |
| Production location | United States |
| Editors | Lillian Benson Betty Ciccarelli Daniel Eisenberg Jeanne Jordan Thomas Ott Charles Scott |
| Running time | 60 minutes |
| Production company | Blackside |
| Release | |
| Original network | PBS |
| Original release | January 21, 1987 – March 5, 1990 |
The series won a number of Emmy Awards, Peabody Awards, and was nominated for an Oscar.
A total of 14 episodes of Eyes on the Prize were produced in two separate parts. The first part, Eyes on the Prize: America's Civil Rights Years 1954–1965, chronicles the time period between the United States Supreme Court ruling Brown v. Board of Education (1954) to the Selma to Montgomery marches of 1965. It consists of six episodes, which premiered on January 21, 1987, and concluded on February 25, 1987. The second part, Eyes on the Prize II: America at the Racial Crossroads 1965–1985, chronicles the time period between the national emergence of Malcolm X during 1964 to the 1983 election of Harold Washington as the first African-American mayor of Chicago. It consists of eight episodes, which aired on January 15, 1990 and ended on March 5, 1990. The documentary was made widely available to educators on VHS tape. All 14 hours were re-released on DVD in 2006 by PBS.
Broadcast
The film originated as two sequential projects. Part one, six hours long, was shown on PBS in early 1987 as Eyes on the Prize: America's Civil Rights Years 1954–1965. Eight more hours were broadcast in 1990 as Eyes on the Prize II: America at the Racial Crossroads 1965–1985.
In 1992, the documentary was released on home video. By the mid-1990s, both rebroadcasts and home video distribution were halted for several years due to expiration of rights and licenses of copyrighted archive footage, photographs and music used in the series. Copyright holders were demanding increasingly higher rates.[2] Grants from the Ford Foundation and Gilder Foundation enabled Blackside and the rights clearance team to renew rights in 2005.[3] While the return of Eyes on the Prize to public television and the educational market depended on the contributions of many, four individuals in particular are credited with achieving the complicated undertaking of rights renewals and the re-release of the series: Sandra Forman, Legal Counsel and Project Director; Cynthia Meagher Kuhn, Archivist and Rights Coordinator; Rena Kosersky, Music Supervisor; and Judi Hampton, President of Blackside and sister of Henry Hampton. None of the archival material in the fourteen-hour documentary was removed or altered in any way.
PBS rebroadcast the first six hours on American Experience on three consecutive Mondays in October 2006,[4] and rebroadcast the second eight hours in February 2008.[5] After a gap of almost eight years, Eyes on the Prize was rebroadcast on World Channel on fourteen consecutive Sundays beginning on January 17, 2016.
PBS reissued an educational version of the series in the fall of 2006, making it available on DVD for the first time.[6] It is now available to educational institutions and libraries from PBS on seven DVDs or seven VHS tapes. A consumer version of part one (1954–1965) was released in March 2010.[7]
The licensing issues from 1993 to 2006 generated what was called Eyes on the Screen, an effort to disseminate the series by file sharing networks without regard to copyright restrictions.
Episodes
America's Civil Rights Years 1954–1965
| No. overall | No. in season | Title | Directed by | Written by | Original air date | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 | "Awakenings (1954–1956)" | Judith Vecchione | Steve Fayer | January 21, 1987 | |
| Chronicles the murder of Emmett Till in Mississippi and the Montgomery bus boycott in Alabama. | ||||||
| 2 | 2 | "Fighting Back (1957–1962)" | Judith Vecchione | Steve Fayer | January 28, 1987 | |
| Chronicles the school desegregation effort at Central High School by the Little Rock Nine in Arkansas from 1957 to 1958 and the later school desegregation effort at the University of Mississippi by James Meredith during the Ole Miss riot of 1962. | ||||||
| 3 | 3 | "Ain't Scared of Your Jails (1960–1961)" | Orlando Bagwell | Steve Fayer | February 4, 1987 | |
| Covers the Nashville sit-ins and boycotts that sought to end racial segregation at lunch counters in Tennessee and the Freedom Riders efforts to end segregation on interstate transportation and terminals throughout the southern United States. | ||||||
| 4 | 4 | "No Easy Walk (1961–1963)" | Callie Crossley & James A. DeVinney | Callie Crossley, James A. DeVinney, & Steve Fayer | February 11, 1987 | |
| Examines the failed attempt by the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC) in Albany, Georgia to end racial segregation and the subsequent lessons learned to win a major victory in Birmingham, Alabama during the Birmingham campaign. The film also covers the March on Washington, one of the largest political rallies for civil rights in the history of the United States. | ||||||
| 5 | 5 | "Mississippi: Is This America? (1962–1964)" | Orlando Bagwell | Steve Fayer | February 18, 1987 | |
| Chronicles the murder of Medgar Evers in 1963 and the murders of Chaney, Goodman, and Schwerner in 1964 in Mississippi. The film also covers the Mississippi Freedom Democratic Party (MFDP) attendance at the Democratic National Convention in Atlantic City during the United States presidential election of 1964. | ||||||
| 6 | 6 | "Bridge to Freedom (1965)" | Callie Crossley & James A. DeVinney | Callie Crossley, James A. DeVinney, & Steve Fayer | February 25, 1987 | |
| Examines the effort to restore voting rights in Selma, Alabama during the Selma to Montgomery marches. | ||||||
America at the Racial Crossroads 1965–1985
| No. overall | No. in season | Title | Directed by | Written by | Original air date | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 7 | 1 | "The Time Has Come (1964–66)" | James A. DeVinney & Madison D. Lacy | James A. DeVinney & Madison D. Lacy | January 15, 1990 | |
| Examines a lead member of the Nation of Islam - Malcolm X. It also chronicles the political organizing work of the Lowndes County Freedom Organization (LCFO) in Alabama and the shooting of James Meredith during the March Against Fear. | ||||||
| 8 | 2 | "Two Societies (1965–68)" | Sheila Curran Bernard & Samuel D. Pollard | Sheila Curran Bernard, Steve Fayer, & Samuel D. Pollard | January 22, 1990 | |
| Follows Martin Luther King Jr. during the Chicago Freedom Movement in Illinois and the tumultuous Detroit Riot of 1967 in Michigan. | ||||||
| 9 | 3 | "Power! (1966–68)" | Louis J. Massiah & Terry Kay Rockefeller | Steve Fayer, Louis J. Massiah, & Terry Kay Rockefeller | January 29, 1990 | |
| Chronicles the election of Carl Stokes as the mayor of Cleveland and one of the first two African Americans to become mayor of a major U.S. city. The film also covers the formation of the Black Panther Party (BPP) and community control of the Ocean Hill-Brownsville school district in Brooklyn during the New York City teachers' strike of 1968. | ||||||
| 10 | 4 | "The Promised Land (1967–68)" | Jacqueline Shearer & Paul Stekler | Steve Fayer, Jacqueline Shearer, & Paul Stekler | February 5, 1990 | |
| Chronicles the final years of Martin Luther King Jr.'s life. It also covers the Poor People's Campaign and Resurrection City in Washington, D.C. | ||||||
| 11 | 5 | "Ain't Gonna Shuffle No More (1964–72)" | Sheila Curran Bernard & Samuel D. Pollard | Sheila Curran Bernard, Steve Fayer, & Samuel D. Pollard | February 15, 1990 | |
| Chronicles the emergence of boxer Muhammad Ali, the student movement at Howard University, and the gathering of the National Black Political Convention in Gary, Indiana. | ||||||
| 12 | 6 | "A Nation of Law? (1968–71)" | Louis J. Massiah, Thomas Ott, & Terry Kay Rockefeller | Steve Fayer, Louis J. Massiah, Thomas Ott, & Terry Kay Rockefeller | February 19, 1990 | |
| Chronicles the leadership and assassination of Fred Hampton of the Black Panther Party (BPP) in Chicago. The second part of the film covers the Attica Prison riot in Attica, New York. | ||||||
| 13 | 7 | "The Keys to the Kingdom (1974–80)" | Jacqueline Shearer & Paul Stekler | Steve Fayer, Jacqueline Shearer, & Paul Stekler | February 26, 1990 | |
| The documentary examines the Boston school desegregation crisis involving busing in Massachusetts. The second part of the film chronicles the election of Maynard Jackson as mayor of Atlanta and the first African American to become mayor of a major U.S. city in the southern United States. The last part of the film examines affirmative action and the landmark United States Supreme Court ruling Regents of the University of California v. Bakke (1978). | ||||||
| 14 | 8 | "Back to the Movement (1979–mid 80s)" | James A. DeVinney & Madison D. Lacy | James A. DeVinney, Steve Fayer, & Madison D. Lacy | March 5, 1990 | |
| Covers the Miami riot of 1980 and the election of Harold Washington as the first African-American mayor of Chicago. The film finishes with an overview of the Civil Rights Movement and its effect upon the United States and the world. | ||||||
Book
| External video | |
|---|---|
 Interview with Juan Williams on Eyes on the Prize, February 3, 1987, C-SPAN |
The book Eyes on the Prize: America's Civil Rights Years, 1954–1965 was created as a companion volume to the series during post-production by the producers and publishing staff at Blackside, Inc. They were assisted by Juan Williams, a journalist with The Washington Post. First published by Viking Press in 1987, the book used a portion of the iconic photograph of the Selma to Montgomery march taken by Look magazine photographer James Karales on its cover.[8]
Reception
The series has been hailed by numerous critics[9][10] as more than just a historical document.
Awards
Both Eyes on the Prize and Eyes on the Prize II won Peabody Awards and Alfred I. duPont–Columbia University Awards.[11][12][13]
The series also won six Emmy Awards.[14]
Episode six, Bridge to Freedom, produced by Callie Crossley and James A. DeVinney, was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature in 1988 during the 60th Academy Awards.[15][16]
See also
References
- DVD Talk
- Sheila Curran Bernard, "Eyes on the Rights - The Rising Cost of Putting History on Screen", Documentary Online Magazine, June 05 Issue, International Documentary Association. Retrieved 2021-6-27.
- Katie Dean (2005-08-30), "Cash Rescues Eyes on the Prize", Wired.com, archived from the original on 2006-12-31, retrieved 2008-02-21.
- A Special Presentation of American Experience: Eyes on the Prize: America's Civil Rights Movement, 1954–1985, PBS.org. Retrieved 2008-02-21.
- PBS News: PBS Celebrates Black History Month with an Extensive Lineup of Special Programming, PBS.org. Retrieved 2008-02-21.
- PBS Education - Eyes on the Prize: America's Civil Rights Movement DVD 7PK - AV Item
- "Eyes on the Prize: America's Civil Rights Years 1954-1965 (Season 1) DVD". PBS. Retrieved 2021-09-30.
- Williams, Juan (2013). Eyes on the prize : America's civil rights years, 1954-1965. 25th anniversary ed. New York: Penguin Books. ISBN 978-0-14-312474-0. OCLC 857233580.
- TV REVIEWS; 'EYES ON THE PRIZE, ON RIGHTS - The New York Times
- 'Eyes on the Prize': reliving the civil rights struggle - CSMonitor
- "Eyes on the Prize: America's Civil Rights Years". Retrieved 2019-03-02.
- "Eyes on the Prize II: America at the Racial Crossroads (1965-1985)". Retrieved 2019-03-02.
- "The Alfred I. duPont-Columbia University Awards | School of Journalism". Retrieved 2019-03-02.
- Landmark civil rights documentary 'Eyes on the Prize' returns to TV - Los Angeles Times
- 1988|Oscars.org
- The Ten-Year Lunch Wins Documentary Feature: 1988 Oscars
Further reading
- Boucher, Norman (1990). "The Vision of Henry Hampton: Eyes on the Prize I and II". The World: Journal of the Unitarian Universalist Association. 4 (1): 8–11.
- Carson, Clayborne (1991). The Eyes on the Prize Civil Rights Reader: Documents, Speeches, and Firsthand Accounts from the Black Freedom Struggle, 1954-1990. Viking Penguin Books. ISBN 9780140154030.
- DeMarco, David (Summer 1987). "Keep Your Eyes on Henry Hampton, Creator Readies Eyes on the Prize". Black Film Review. 3 (3): 14–15.
- Else, Jon (2017). True South: Henry Hampton and Eyes on the Prize, the Landmark Television Series That Reframed the Civil Rights Movement. Penguin Publishing Group. ISBN 9781101980934.
- G'Schwind, James A. (1999). Eyes on the Prize: American Historiophoty in Documentary Film (Ph.D. dissertation). Indiana University. OCLC 56509312.
- Hadley, Elizabeth Amelia (1999). "Eyes on the Prize: Reclaiming Black Images, Culture, and History". In Klotman, Phyllis Rauch; Cutler, Janet K. (eds.). Struggles for Representation: African American Documentary Film and Video. Indiana University Press. pp. 99–121. ISBN 9780253213471.
- Hampton, Henry; Fayer, Steve (2011). Voices of Freedom: An Oral History of the Civil Rights Movement from the 1950s Through the 1980s. Random House Publishing Group. ISBN 9780307574183.
External links
- Eyes on the Prize I Interviews Collection, American Archive of Public Broadcasting
- Eyes on the Prize Series
- Teacher study guide
- PBS Lesson Plans
- Eyes on the Prize Interview Transcripts, Washington University Library
- Eyes on the Prize I - Henry Hampton Collection, Washington University's Film and Media Archive
- Eyes on the Prize II - Henry Hampton Collection, Washington University's Film and Media Archive
- Eyes On the Prize at IMDb
- Eyes On the Prize II at IMDb
