Eyes on The Prize: America's Civil Rights Years 1954-1965

When I was coming up my family would tell us about great African Americans we didn't learn about in school. I got my set of black history encyclopedias n red them cover to cover and had to do reports on what I learned. My grandmother made us all sit as a family to watch Roots when it first premiered each night. I passed that on with my kids and now my grandkids. Whole they were here last month we watched this Eyes on the Prize documentary all the way through. I wish we could get the entire series with every episode,until then I got the ones they did have. My grandbabies are 12,10,8 and 3,so clearly they weren't exposed to the things in this film. They were so baffled and intrigued on how n why things were so bad. My 3 yr old grandson couldn't understand why we couldn't drink from the same fountain or use the same restroom. He asked was the water made different,or did it taste different? Were we on punishment or time out and couldn't have any water? I think it's so important to teach the kids what our grandparents n great grandparents went through just to eat lunchl. I can remember the things I couldn't believe listening to my grandma tell stories of life in racist Louisiana. The Klan is still active n meets regularly. I will never forget the time we saw 4 truckloads of them in their robes n hoods pulling into the parking lot going in the store to get beer for their meeting. I was absolutely baffled, stunned n blown away. Teach them what things they couldn't do n what would get them killed or lynched. I made sure mine never used the N word,especially around me or around mixed company because it teaches them it's alright. Some of these kids r so selfish, entitled ,spoiled,thinks the word owes them something.,one week having to live through that life would humble their rotten asses quickly. Awesome documentary,well done,well researched bit buyer beware,it will take u back,see the ignorance n hate in your face n piss u off. Will kinda remind you of times today,which is so sad we r just about still in the same place..

The media could not be loaded.  Politics aside this is one hell of a series to watch and to have and to pass on to your kids. I am so glad that Amazon has these to sell and I thank you for that with all the banning of books and videos and everything else in the country.

Rattlesnakes don't commit suicide is a very effective line from this documentary. It deals with the knowledge of an enslaved and oppressed people, knowing that their oppressor will never willingly set them free. Thus begin this very thought provoking series that chronicles the 30 year span of the Civil Rights Movement from 1954 through 1984. However, this is not a thoroughly comprehensive piece because far too many figures were either omitted or appear all too briefly, chiefly, Thorogood Marshall, Adam Clayton Powell, Jr., and Malcolm X. Nor would I have you believe that the movement started in 1954, because this struggle dates back to the 16th century and was sucessfully contained and controlled until the mid 20th century. There are fine, in fact, excellent documentaries that deserve to be seen along with this one, most notably are: Africans In America; A Journey Through Slavery, ( 2 ) Reconstruction: The Second Civil War and ( 3 ) Citizen King, worthy of a look. But for the period this film covers, it is unsurpassed in what it reveals. A warning however should be noted that this is a stark, violent document that often show scenes that are very disturbing, but a necessary element to illustrate the brutality inflicted upon a people who were forcibly taken from their homes and enslaved in the new colonies, purportedly built on the principles and concepts of Freedom. This journey begins with the Supreme Court ruling in the Brown-vs-The Board Of Education. From there we are swept along to the mobilization of the Mobile bus boycott and introduces us to the young Dr. Martin Luther King. It is my opinion that the speeches of Dr. King, alone make it a must have in every home. Far too many young people of today think that black history is what was atop the Hip-Hop charts a year ago. This is why this item should be in every home, should be viewed by everyone you know, should be recommended to every American regardless of race, because blacks alone did not overcome the situation in America. This is a truly remarkable piece to own. And in the words of Dr. King "Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere." Failing to view or purchase this DVD set would be a true injustice. Aubrey D. Bowman

Just watched the first episode. This was a six-hour documentary on PBS in 1987. Got it from Mr. Bezos, $21 marked down from $40. Very good. First episode covered Emmett Till, and the Montgomery bus boycott and the rise of Rev. King.You think you remember history, but you don't. That boycott went on for a year, and finally took the Supreme Court to end it. In the meantime, other cities had boycotts and had ended bus segregation.It's so valuable to be able to see these people talking about what happened, the people who were there, with their feelings in what they say. But I hope you're good with Southern dialects, because these PBS discs have no captions at all.(I get no compensation of any kind for this review.)

This is an iconic documentary that is an absolute must for every dvd library, especially for us who were still in elementary school when these events happened and were too young to understand the significance of these historic events.

At last the first part of this wonderful series is available on DVD albeit on American Region 1 thus requiring a multi player. First shown in 1990 and also in its entirety on the BBC this series became mired in copyright issues and has been subject to all sorts of wrangling prior to DVD release this year. This has been a frustrating hiatus since this is a monumental documentary covering in full the key Civil Rights years in the US and potraying in huge detail all the key participants. Not least is the giant shadow cast by Dr Martin Luther King and the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC) but also key players like Emmett Till, Rosa Parks, James Meredith's 1962 challenge to segregation at the University of Mississippi (Ole Miss) and of course that activist force of nature Miss Fannie Lou Hamer of the Mississippi Freedom Democratic Party. We await the release of later episodes which carries you through the years to the rise of Malcolm X and the Nation of Islam, and then into the fascinating origins of the Black Panthers under the leadership of Huey Newton and the journey of activists like Stokely Carmichael and the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC) from "Freedom Now!" to the doctrine "Black Power".The programmes speak for themselves and build a turbulent story which has not ended. What is clear is that following the reconstruction after the civil war ended in 1865 in effect a second civil war needed to fought in America particularly following that period where unrealized goals of economic and racial justice were laid bare by racist Jim Crow laws (first introduced in 1876). Similarly we see the growth of the outrageous doctrine of "separate but equal" status for Black Americans which in effect mandated de jure racial segregation in all public facilities in numerous states enforced in law by Plessy v. Ferguson decision of 1896 which allowed state-sponsored segregation. It was not until the State-sponsored school segregation was declared unconstitutional by the Supreme Court of the United States in 1954 in Brown v. Board of Education led by the immense figure of Justice Earl Warren that that legal force combined with moral authority to produce years of radical activism in which blacks and whites together were assaulted, beaten to a pulp, attacked by dogs, mown down by fire hoses and murdered in places such as Selma, Montgomery, Greensboro and throughout Mississippi. The sheer bravery of the freedom riders screams out of this series as does the sheer terror that civil rights activist endured. There are episodes when you watch this series that you will literally fume and rage in anger at the appalling ignorance and stupidity of a section of white southerners whose many comments are too offensive to repeat here. Any one watching Mayor Joseph Smitherman of Selma, Alabama in 1965 and his infamous television aired mis-pronunciation of King's surname will witness a society where blatantly racist speech and attitude infused everyday life and culture. Likewise witnessing one of the key episodes on Birmingham it is hard not to hate Eugene "Bull" Connor the Public Safety Commissioner of Birmingham, Alabama in the 1960s, and a infamous symbol of bigotry. The story of a range of Southern governors particularly the contradictory figure of George Wallace squaring off with the US president John F Kennedy and his brother and Attorney General Bobby Kennedy is a fascinating political dual.And all the while the figure of King and the trails and tribulations he suffered, but also the victories he achieved and the strength of character that he and other leaders displayed are at the forefront. Those words King uttered on the night before his assassination at the Lorraine motel in Memphis on April 4th 1968 remain infused with huge poignancy but also hope, as he stated "And I've looked over. And I've seen the promised land. I may not get there with you. But I want you to know tonight, that we, as a people, will get to the promised land. And I'm happy, tonight. I'm not worried about anything. I'm not fearing any man. Mine eyes have seen the glory of the coming of the Lord". You also fully understand that by the time of Kings assassination that the moral authority of the non violent movement was beginning to dramatically wane as a more more militant and confrontational form of black activism emerged particularly with the Black Panthers who moved toward Maoism and led the hugely controversial FBI chief J. Edgar Hoover to call the party "the greatest threat to the internal security of the country".The driving force behind Eyes on the Prize was Henry Hampton (1940-1998) who won many awards for this remarkable series in which he set out to tell "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". The experience of watching this series is itself a journey from early idealism to hard edged revolutionary politics. On times it is a deeply disturbing, uncomfortable and tragic viewing experience. Yet wherever your sympathies lie on this tapestry of black activism you will recognise that fundamentally "Eyes on the prize" is non fictional tale of "human drama" which touches your basic humanity and tugs at your soul creating genuine admiration for a generation who literally put their lives on the line.

My daughter is currently studying the US civil rights era for GCSE history, and I remembered this series being shown on the BBC about 15 years ago, maybe more, so being thankful I have a multi-region DVD player (I could only find this as 'region 1'), I bought it to watch with her.With first hand accounts, clear chronological detail and a seeming 'tell it like it was' commentary, it has become essential viewing.Politics aside, if there was any lack of understanding as to why it seems Obama being president is considered as an event just short of a miracle, this puts things into perspective and then some.

I've only watched the last two episodes as it arrived yesterday. They were so good that I can't wait to say this is a wonderful documentary (I used to make documentaries) powerful, moving, fascinating and fair. I was in the US from '64 - '64 and was safely engaged in the issues in Boston. I wept and marvelled at how well the stories were told.

Well produced history of the Civil Rights Era featuring archive material and interviews with the key surviving players from the 1980s.A good summary of the period and of value to students and of interest to those interested in modern US History.

I'm sure it would be wonderful if I could hear the commentary ...... and my hearing isn't too bad.