Eyes on the Prize

History Series / 1 Season

EYES ON THE PRIZE tells the definitive story of the civil rights era from the point of view of the ordinary men and women whose extraordinary actions launched a movement that changed the fabric of American life, and embodied a struggle whose reverberations continue to be felt today. Narrated by political leader and civil rights activist Julian Bond (1940-2015).

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Back to the Movement (1979-mid '80s) | Promo

30s / TV-PG

Power and powerlessness. Miami's black community -- pummeled by urban renewal, a lack of jobs, and police harassment -- explodes in rioting. But in Chicago, an unprecedented grassroots movement triumphs. Frustrated by decades of unfulfilled promises made by the city's Democratic political machine, reformers install Harold Washington as Chicago's first Black mayor.

The Keys to the Kingdom (1974-1980) | Promo

30s / TV-PG

In the 1970s, anti-discrimination legal rights gained in past decades by the Civil Rights Movement are put to the test. In Boston, some whites violently resist a federal court school desegregation order. Atlanta's first black mayor, Maynard Jackson, proves that affirmative action can work, but the Bakke Supreme Court case challenges that policy.

A Nation of Law? (1968-1971) | Promo

30s / TV-PG

Black activism is increasingly met with a violent and unethical response from law enforcement agencies. In Chicago, two Black Panther Party leaders are killed by police acting on information supplied by an FBI informant. In the wake of Nixon's call to "law and order," arrests push the poor conditions at Attica to the limit; an inmate takeover calling attention to the conditions leaves 43 dead.

Ain't Gonna Shuffle No More (1964-1972) | Promo

30s / TV-PG

A renewed push for unity galvanizes Black America. Cassius Clay challenges America to accept him as Muhammad Ali. Howard University students fight to bring the Black consciousness movement and African heritage inside the Black institution. Black officials and activists organize the National Black Political Convention in an attempt to create a unified Black response to growing repression.

The Promised Land (1967-1968) | Promo

30s / TV-PG

Martin Luther King, Jr. stakes out new ground for himself and the fragmenting Civil Rights Movement. King opposes the war in Vietnam. His SCLC embarks on the Poor People's Campaign. In the midst of organizing, King detours to support striking sanitation workers in Memphis, where he is assassinated. His death and the failure of his final campaign mark the end of a major stream of the movement.

Power! (1966-1968) | Promo

30s / TV-PG

The call for Black Power takes various forms across communities in Black America. In Cleveland, Carl Stokes wins as the first Black mayor of a major American city. The Black Panther Party, armed with books, programs, and guns, is born in Oakland. Substandard teaching practices prompt parents to gain control of a school district but lead them to a showdown with New York City's teachers' union.

Two Societies (1965-1968) | Promo

30s / TV-PG

Martin Luther King, Jr. and the SCLC come north to help Chicago's civil rights leaders in their nonviolent struggle against segregated housing. In Detroit, a police raid in a Black neighborhood sparks an uprising, leaving 43 people dead. The Kerner Commission finds that America is becoming "two societies, one black, one white, separate and unequal" - President Lyndon Johnson ignores the report.

The Time Has Come (1964-1966) | Promo

30s / TV-PG

After a decade-long cry for justice, a new sound is heard in the Civil Rights Movement: the call for power. Malcolm X takes an eloquent nationalism to urban streets as a younger generation of Black leaders listens. In the South, Stokely Carmichael and the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee move from "Freedom Now!" to "Black Power!" as the fabric of the traditional movement changes.

Mississippi - Is This America? (1963-1964) | Promo

30s / TV-PG

Mississippi’s grassroots Civil Rights Movement becomes an American concern when college students travel south to help register black voters and three of them are murdered. The Mississippi Freedom Democratic Party challenges the regular Mississippi delegation at the Democratic Convention in Atlantic City.

Mississippi-Is This America? (1963-1964) | A New Party

52s / TV-PG

Victoria Gray Adams, one of the founding members of the Mississippi Freedom Democratic Party, explains what the party's goals are - one being Black representation and recognition at the state and national level. From Eyes on the Prize: Mississippi - Is This America? (1963-1964).

Mississippi - Is This America? (1963-1964) | Freedom Summer

1m 10s / TV-PG

In 1964, activist Bob Moses announces Freedom Summer in Mississippi. The project would send volunteers, mostly white, to join Black residents in the state to assist with education, community activities like voter registration. From Eyes on the Prize: Mississippi - Is This America? (1963-1964).

Mississippi-Is This America? (1963-1964) | Register to Vote

42s / TV-PG

Lawrence Guyot, founding chairman of the Mississippi Freedom Democratic Party, expresses frustration over the voter registration process for Black Americans in Mississippi. From Eyes on the Prize: Mississippi - Is This America? (1963-1964).

Bridge to Freedom (1965) | Promo

30s / TV-PG

A decade of lessons is applied in the climactic and bloody march from Selma to Montgomery, Alabama. A major victory is won when the federal Voting Rights Bill passes, but civil rights leaders know they have new challenges ahead.

No Easy Walk (1961-1963) | March on Washington: John Lewis

30s / TV-PG

"We want our freedom and we want it now." An excerpt of John Lewis's speech at the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom in 1963. From Eyes on the Prize: No Easy Walk (1961-1963).

No Easy Walk (1961-1963) | March on Washington: MLK Jr.

1m 30s / TV-PG

An extended excerpt of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s “I Have a Dream” at the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom in 1963. From Eyes on the Prize: No Easy Walk (1961-1963).

No Easy Walk (1961-1963) | MLK Jr. in Birmingham

1m 44s / TV-PG

Reverend Andrew Young tells the story of the moment that Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. showed his “true leadership.” It began in Birmingham, Alabama where King, the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLDC) and the Alabama Christian Movement for Human Rights led a campaign of protests. From Eyes on the Prize: No Easy Walk (1961-1963).

Ain't Scared of Your Jails (1960-1961) | Freedom Riders

1m 3s / TV-PG

James Farmer, the director of the Congress of Racial Equality (CORE), explains the step-by-step procedures for the Freedom Riders from Washington, D.C. through America's South to New Orleans, Louisiana in 1961. From Eyes on the Prize: Ain't Scared of Your Jails (1960-1961).

Ain't Scared of Your Jails (1960-1961) | John Lewis

1m 39s / TV-PG

John Lewis speaks about the planned protection detail for the Freedom Riders in Alabama, and what actually happened along the way from Birmingham to their arrival in Montgomery. From Eyes on the Prize: Ain't Scared of Your Jails (1960-1961).

Ain't Scared of Your Jails (1960-1961) | Nashville Sit-Ins

1m 17s / TV-PG

In 1960, Fisk student and activist Diane Nash recounts the lunch counter sit-ins in Nashville, Tennessee. From Eyes on the Prize: Ain't Scared of Your Jails (1960-1961).

No Easy Walk (1961-1963) | Promo

30s / TV-PG

The Civil Rights Movement discovers the power of mass demonstrations as the Reverend Martin Luther King, Jr. emerges as its most visible leader. Some demonstrations succeed; others fail. But the triumphant March on Washington, D.C., under King’s leadership shows mounting national support for civil rights. President John F. Kennedy proposes the Civil Rights Act.

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