The mission of The Department of Afro-American Research Arts and Culture to identify the global significance of the creative contributions pioneered by an international diaspora of Blackness
The Department of Afro American Research, Arts, and Culture's Archive is a subdivision of DAARAC that digitally preserves Afro American films. On this website, you may browse our archive that consists of film posters, screenshots, and movie synopsis. All information provided here is for research and reference purposes. We do not host full-length films on this website.

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Tuesday, February 5, 2013

Eyes on the Prize - Awakenings (1954-1956) [Part 1 of 14] (1987)


















Starring:
  • Ralph Abernathy
  • Unita Blackwell
  • Julian Bond
IMDB.com
"Eyes on the Prize" is an exceptional series--mostly because instead of the typical hour or half hour documentary, it's VERY thorough and very detailed---covering not just an event but the civil rights movement from 1954 through 1965--and a LOT happened during that time. This isn't surprising, as PBS has made tons of interesting and well-crafted documentaries over the years.

This first episode gives a very brief overview of the pervasiveness of lynchings and other mistreatment of Blacks in America. Then, most of the episode centers on two important events in the mid-1950s--the Emmett Till murder trial and the incident when Rosa Parks refused to give up her seat on a segregated bus--thus leading to the Montgomery bus boycott and the beginning of Martin Luther King's career as a civil rights leader. My only complaint, and it's a minor one, is that life for Blacks in America prior to the 50s is really not mentioned very much--and it seemed like they went through this a bit too quickly. Still, it was an otherwise excellent show--and well worth seeing.

Transcript of the documentary: PSB.org

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