Storyline

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 reverberation continue to be felt today.

First Aired

1987-01-21
Last Aired

1990-03-05
Creator

Henry Hampton
Genre

Documentary
Seasons

3
Episodes

20
Status

Returning Series
Language

English
Network

PBS, Max

Keywords:

civil rights

Stream and watch Eyes on the Prize

Season 1

Season 2

Season 3

1. Awakenings, 1954-1956

Individual acts of courage inspire black Southerners to fight for their rights: Mose Wright testifies ...More

Individual acts of courage inspire black Southerners to fight for their rights: Mose Wright testifies against the white men who murdered young Emmett Till, and Rosa Parks refuses to give up her bus seat to a white man in Montgomery, Alabama.Less

60mins 1987-01-21

2. Fighting Back, 1957-1962

States' rights loyalists and federal authorities collide in the 1957 battle to integrate Little Rock's...More

States' rights loyalists and federal authorities collide in the 1957 battle to integrate Little Rock's Central High School, and again in James Meredith's 1962 challenge to segregation at the University of Mississippi. Both times, a Southern governor squares off with a U.S. president, violence erupts -- and integration is carried out.Less

60mins 1987-01-28

3. Ain't Scared of Your Jails, 1960-1961

Black college students take a leadership role in the civil rights movement as lunch counter sit-ins sp...More

Black college students take a leadership role in the civil rights movement as lunch counter sit-ins spread across the South. "Freedom Riders" also try to desegregate interstate buses, but they are brutally attacked as they travel.Less

60mins 1987-02-04

4. No Easy Walk, 1962-1966

The civil rights movement discovers the power of mass demonstrations as the Rev. Martin Luther King, J...More

The civil rights movement discovers the power of mass demonstrations as the Rev. 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 a mounting national support for civil rights. President John F. Kennedy proposes the Civil Rights Act.Less

60mins 1987-02-11

5. Mississippi, Is This America, 1962-1964

Mississippi's grass-roots civil rights movement becomes an American concern when college students trav...More

Mississippi's grass-roots civil rights movement becomes an American concern when college students travel south to help register black voters and three activists are murdered. The Mississippi Freedom Democratic Party challenges the regular Mississippi delegation at the Democratic Convention in Atlantic City.Less

60mins 1987-02-18

6. Bridge to Freedom, 1965

A decade of lessons is applied in the climactic and bloody march from Selma to Montgomery, Alabama. A ...More

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.Less