National Series

Nearly two decades after its 1987 premiere, the groundbreaking series Eyes on the Prize comes to UNC-TV from American Experience in three, two-hour episodes airing on consecutive Mondays, October 2-16, at 9 PM.  Winner of numerous Emmy Awards, a Peabody Award, an International Documentary Award and a Television Critics Association Award, Eyes on the Prize is the most critically-acclaimed documentary on Civil Rights in America.

This landmark series, narrated by political leader and civil rights activist Julian Bond, tells the definitive story of the Civil Rights era from the point of view of 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.

Through contemporary interviews and historical footage, each hour-long Eyes on the Prize episode exploring America’s “Civil Rights Years”(1954 – 1965) traces the Movement from the Montgomery bus boycott to the Voting Rights Act; from community power in schools to "Black Power" in the streets; from early acts of individual courage through to the flowering of a mass movement and its eventual split into factions.

Episodes 1 & 2 – Monday, October 2, beginning at 9 PM

“Awakenings” – This program concentrates on the period from 1954 to 1956, highlighting the events that began the modern black freedom struggle. Prior to 1954, racism was rationalized under a "separate but equal" doctrine. It was during this time that existing organizations, local leaders and ordinary citizens became involved in the black freedom struggle. The murder in Mississippi of 14-year-old Emmett Till led to a trial that caught the attention of the national news media. The Montgomery (AL) Bus Boycott was motivated by the arrest of Rosa Parks, who refused to relinquish her bus seat to a white person.

“Fighting Back” – Public schools became a battlefield when blacks rejected the notion of "separate but equal" education. This episode explores the critical 1954 Supreme Court Brown vs. Board of Education of Topeka decision; the story of nine black teenagers who integrated Little Rock's Central High School in 1957; and James Meredith's enrollment at the University of Mississippi in 1962. The program identifies the national organizations involved in the struggle to integrate schools and how they affected the freedom struggle.

Episodes 3 & 4 – Monday, October 9, beginning at 9 PM

“Ain’t Scared of Your Jails” – In 1960, large numbers of college students and young people began to get involved in the black freedom struggle. The focus of black protest changed from legal battles to personal and group challenges against racial inequities. This program focuses on four related stories: the lunch counter sit-ins of 1960; the formation of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee; the impact of the movement on the 1960 presidential campaign; and the freedom rides of 1961.

“No Easy Walk” – In Albany, GA, the Reverend Martin Luther King, Jr.'s strategy of nonviolence was tested by Police Chief Laurie Pritchett. In Birmingham, AL, schoolchildren filled the city's jails after they marched against Bull Connor's fire hoses. In the nation's capital, marchers captured national and international attention. This program places the civil rights phenomenon in a broad historical context, describing the growing commitment of activists to nonviolent tactics. In the period between 1962 and 1966, the civil rights struggle became a "mass movement."

Episodes 5 & 6 – Monday, October 16, beginning at 9 PM

“Mississippi: Is This America?” – In 1961, Mississippi became a testing ground for constitutional principles as the Civil Rights Movement concentrated its energies on the right to vote in this state. This program focuses on the extraordinary personal risks faced by ordinary citizens as they assumed responsibility for social change, particularly in the 1962-1964 voting rights campaign. By 1964, conflicts between movement leaders and liberals became apparent as the newly formed Mississippi Freedom Democratic Party challenged the Democratic Party Convention in Atlantic City.

“Bridge to Freedom” – Ten years after Rosa Parks refused to give up her bus seat to a white man and 11 years after the decree that "separate but equal" was unconstitutional, millions had joined the fight, and thousands of blacks and whites came together to march 50 miles for freedom in Selma, AL. This program highlights this historic march as the last great gathering of the Southern-based movement and provides an opportunity to examine the gains made by the civil rights protests.

Don’t miss a single groundbreaking episode of this six-part engaging series and the opportunity to participate in UNC-TV’s Eyes on the Prize Oral History Project—an online repository of your local Civil Rights experiences and insights!

Eyes on the Prize is a production of Blackside, a minority-owned documentary film production company dedicated to raising consciousness about America's social progress and history.

The re-release of Eyes on the Prize was made possible by grants from The Ford Foundation and The Gilder Foundation.  Funding for the National Outreach Campaign was provided by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting. The Annie E. Casey Foundation is supporting additional grants and an Oral History Toolkit.