WORLD Channel

In the 1970s, anti-discrimination legal rights gained in past decades by the Civil Rights Movement are put to the test. In Boston, some whites violently resist a federal court school desegregation order. In Atlanta, Maynard Jackson, the first black mayor, proves that affirmative action can work, but the Bakke Supreme Court case challenges it. From the award-winning doc series "Eyes on the Prize."

In the wake of President Nixon's call to "law and order," stepped-up arrests push the already poor conditions at New York's Attica State Prison to the limit. A five-day inmate takeover calling the public's attention to the conditions leaves 43 men dead: four killed by inmates, 39 by police. From the award-winning documentary series "Eyes on the Prize."

A renewed push for unity galvanize black America: Cassius Clay challenges America to accept him as Muhammad Ali; students fight to bring the black consciousness movement to Howard University; and black officials and activists organize the National Black Political Convention to create a response to growing repression against the movement. From the award-winning doc series "Eyes on the Prize."

Martin Luther King, Jr. stakes out new ground for himself and the Civil Rights Movement; he opposes the Vietnam War and his SCLC embarks on the Poor People's Campaign. In the midst of organizing, King detours to Memphis, where he is assassinated. King's death and the failure of his final campaign mark the end of a major stream of the movement. From the award-winning doc series "Eyes on the Prize."

The call for Black Power takes on various forms in black America: Carl Stokes is elected as the first black mayor of a major American city; the Black Panther Party, armed with books, programs & guns, is born; and substandard teaching practices prompt parents to gain educational control of a school district leading to a union showdown. From the award-winning documentary series "Eyes on the Prize."

While Martin Luther King, Jr. and SCLC assist Chicago's civil rights leaders in a struggle against segregated housing, a police raid in a black Detroit neighborhood sparks an uprising leaving 43 people dead. Upon investigation, the Kerner Commission finds that America is becoming "two societies, one black, one white, separate & unequal." From the award-winning doc series "Eyes on the Prize."

After a decade-long cry for justice, a new sound is heard in the Civil Rights Movement: the call for power. Malcolm X takes nationalism to urban streets as a younger generation of black leaders listens. In the South, Stokely Carmichael and the SNCC move from "Freedom Now!" to "Black Power!" as the fabric of the traditional movement changes. From the award-winning doc series "Eyes on the Prize."

Young men & women of the Civil Rights Movement became leaders by creating their own brand of protest from nonviolent sit-ins to the Freedom Summer of voter registration. Bree Newsome, who has been compared with Rosa Parks, speaks about the impact of youth activism, and how Trayvon Martin's death inspired her to become an activist. From the WORLD Channel special, "Eyes on the Prize: Then and Now."

Why does "Eyes on the Prize" matter today? The series filmmakers speak about the voices of the ordinary people who became extraordinary activists, and how the stories of the Civil Rights Movement continue to resonate today in the events in Baltimore and Ferguson. From the WORLD Channel special, "Eyes on the Prize: Then and Now."

Why do Trayvon Martin, Michael Brown, Sandra Bland and Renisha McBride matter? Activists Michaela Angela, Patrisse Cullors-Brignac, Daunasia Yancy, DeRay Mckesson and Janaya Khan speak about why #BlackLivesMatter in the new human rights movement. From the WORLD Channel special, "Eyes on the Prize: Then and Now."

Al Sharpton of the National Action Network talks about the progress of the nation even when it may seem America has not, and how #BlackLivesMatters must organize to be a sustainable, change affecting movement. From the WORLD Channel special, "Eyes on the Prize: Then and Now."

Filmmaker Henry Hampton was inspired to tell the history of the Civil Rights Movement from marching to the Edmund Pettus Bridge in Selma, Alabama. For the black & white, men & women production team, the challenges of producing the six films for Series I of "Eyes on the Prize" ranged from budget to stories. This is the "Making Of." From the WORLD Channel special, "Eyes on the Prize: Then and Now."