| Eyes on the Prize | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Also known as | Eyes on the Prize I Eyes on the Prize II Eyes on the Prize III |
| 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 | 20 |
| 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 |
| Original release | |
| Network | PBS |
| Release | January 21, 1987 (1987-01-21) – March 5, 1990 (1990-03-05) |
| Network | HBO |
| Release | February 25, 2025 (2025-02-25) – March 2025 (2025-03) |
Eyes on the Prize: America's Civil Rights Movement is an Americantelevision seriesdocumentary about thecivil rights movement in the United States.[1] The documentary originally aired on thePBS network, and it also aired in the United Kingdom onBBC2. Created and executive produced byHenry Hampton, and narrated byJulian Bond, the series usesarchival footage, stills, and interviews by participants and opponents of the movement. The title of the series is derived from the title of thefolk song "Keep Your Eyes on the Prize", which is used as the opening theme music in each episode.
The series won a number ofEmmy Awards,Peabody Awards, and was nominated for anAcademy Award.
A total of 20 episodes ofEyes on the Prize were produced in three separate parts. The first part,Eyes on the Prize: America's Civil Rights Years, chronicles the time period between theUnited States Supreme Court rulingBrown v. Board of Education in 1954 and theSelma 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, chronicles the time period from the national emergence ofMalcolm X in 1964 to the 1983 election ofHarold Washington as the first African-American mayor ofChicago. It consists of eight episodes, which aired from January 15, 1990, to March 5, 1990. The third part,Eyes on the Prize III: We Who Believe in Freedom Cannot Rest, chronicles those who work for racial justice from 1977 to 2015. It premiered on February 25, 2025, onHBO.[2] The documentary was made widely available to educators onVHS tape. 14 hours were re-released onDVD in 2006 by PBS.
The film originated as two sequential projects. Part one, six hours long, was shown onPBS in early 1987 asEyes on the Prize: America's Civil Rights Years 1954–1965. Eight more hours were broadcast in 1990 asEyes 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.[3] Grants from theFord Foundation and Gilder Foundation enabled Blackside and the rights clearance team to renew rights in 2005.[4] While the return ofEyes 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 onAmerican Experience on three consecutive Mondays in October 2006,[5] and rebroadcast the second eight hours in February 2008.[6] After a gap of almost eight years,Eyes on the Prize was rebroadcast onWorld 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.[7] 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.[8]
The licensing issues from 1993 to 2006 generated what was calledEyes on the Screen, an effort to disseminate the series byfile sharing networks without regard to copyright restrictions.
| No. overall | No. in season | Title | Directed by | Written by | Original release date | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 | "Awakenings (1954–1956)" | Judith Vecchione | Steve Fayer | January 21, 1987 (1987-01-21) | |
| 2 | 2 | "Fighting Back (1957–1962)" | Judith Vecchione | Steve Fayer | January 28, 1987 (1987-01-28) | |
Chronicles the school desegregation effort atCentral High School by theLittle Rock Nine inArkansas from 1957 to 1958 and the later school desegregation effort at theUniversity of Mississippi byJames Meredith during theOle Miss riot of 1962. | ||||||
| 3 | 3 | "Ain't Scared of Your Jails (1960–1961)" | Orlando Bagwell | Steve Fayer | February 4, 1987 (1987-02-04) | |
Covers theNashville sit-ins andboycotts that sought to endracial segregation at lunch counters inTennessee and theFreedom Riders efforts to end segregation on interstate transportation and terminals throughout thesouthern United States. | ||||||
| 4 | 4 | "No Easy Walk (1961–1963)" | Callie Crossley & James A. DeVinney | Callie Crossley, James A. DeVinney, & Steve Fayer | February 11, 1987 (1987-02-11) | |
Examines the failed attempt by theSouthern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC) inAlbany, Georgia to end racial segregation and the subsequent lessons learned to win a major victory inBirmingham, Alabama during theBirmingham campaign. The film also covers theMarch on Washington, one of the largestpolitical rallies for civil rights in thehistory of the United States. | ||||||
| 5 | 5 | "Mississippi: Is This America? (1962–1964)" | Orlando Bagwell | Steve Fayer | February 18, 1987 (1987-02-18) | |
Chronicles the murder ofMedgar Evers in 1963 and themurders of Chaney, Goodman, and Schwerner in 1964 inMississippi. The film also covers theMississippi Freedom Democratic Party (MFDP) attendance at theDemocratic National Convention inAtlantic City during theUnited 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 (1987-02-25) | |
Examines the effort to restore voting rights inSelma, Alabama during theSelma to Montgomery marches. | ||||||
| No. overall | No. in season | Title | Directed by | Written by | Original release date | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 7 | 1 | "The Time Has Come (1964–66)" | James A. DeVinney & Madison D. Lacy | James A. DeVinney & Madison D. Lacy | January 15, 1990 (1990-01-15) | |
Examines a lead member of theNation of Islam -Malcolm X. It also chronicles the political organizing work of theLowndes County Freedom Organization (LCFO) in Alabama and the shooting ofJames Meredith during theMarch 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 (1990-01-22) | |
FollowsMartin Luther King Jr. during theChicago Freedom Movement inIllinois, and the tumultuousDetroit Riot of 1967 inMichigan as well as the1965 Watts Riot inCalifornia. | ||||||
| 9 | 3 | "Power! (1966–68)" | Louis J. Massiah & Terry Kay Rockefeller | Steve Fayer,Louis J. Massiah, & Terry Kay Rockefeller | January 29, 1990 (1990-01-29) | |
Chronicles the election ofCarl Stokes as the mayor ofCleveland and one of thefirst two African Americans to become mayor of a major U.S. city. The film also covers the formation of theBlack Panther Party (BPP) and community control of theOcean Hill-Brownsville school district inBrooklyn during theNew 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 (1990-02-05) | |
Chronicles the final years ofMartin Luther King Jr.'s life. It also covers thePoor People's Campaign and Resurrection City inWashington, 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 (1990-02-15) | |
Chronicles the emergence of boxerMuhammad Ali, the student movement atHoward University, and the gathering of theNational Black Political Convention inGary, 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 (1990-02-19) | |
Chronicles the leadership and assassination ofFred Hampton of theBlack Panther Party (BPP) inChicago. The second part of the film covers theAttica Prison riot inAttica, New York. | ||||||
| 13 | 7 | "The Keys to the Kingdom (1974–80)" | Jacqueline Shearer &Paul Stekler | Steve Fayer,Jacqueline Shearer, &Paul Stekler | February 26, 1990 (1990-02-26) | |
The documentary examines theBoston school desegregation crisis involving busing inMassachusetts. The second part of the film chronicles the election ofMaynard Jackson as mayor ofAtlanta and thefirst African American to become mayor of a major U.S. city in thesouthern United States. The last part of the film examinesaffirmative action and the landmarkUnited States Supreme Court rulingRegents 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 (1990-03-05) | |
Covers theMiami riot of 1980 and the election ofHarold Washington as the first African-American mayor ofChicago. The film finishes with an overview of theCivil Rights Movement and its effect upon the United States and the world. | ||||||
| External videos | |
|---|---|
 Interview with Juan Williams onEyes on the Prize, February 3, 1987,C-SPAN |
The bookEyes 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 byJuan Williams, a journalist withThe Washington Post. First published byViking Press in 1987, the book used a portion of the iconic photograph of theSelma to Montgomery march taken byLook magazine photographerJames Karales on its cover.[9]
The series has been hailed by numerous critics[10][11] as more than just a historical document.
BothEyes on the Prize andEyes on the Prize II wonPeabody Awards andAlfred I. duPont–Columbia University Awards.[12][13][14]
The series also won sixEmmy Awards.[15]
Episode six,Bridge to Freedom, produced byCallie Crossley and James A. DeVinney, was nominated for anAcademy Award forBest Documentary Feature in 1988 during the60th Academy Awards.[16][17]
