Eyes on the Prize

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.

Mississippi’s grassroots Civil Rights Movement becomes an American concern when college students travel south to help register black voters and three of them are murdered. The Mississippi Freedom Democratic Party challenges the regular Mississippi delegation at the Democratic Convention in Atlantic City.

Victoria Gray Adams, one of the founding members of the Mississippi Freedom Democratic Party, explains what the party's goals are - one being Black representation and recognition at the state and national level. From Eyes on the Prize: Mississippi - Is This America? (1963-1964).

Lawrence Guyot, founding chairman of the Mississippi Freedom Democratic Party, expresses frustration over the voter registration process for Black Americans in Mississippi. From Eyes on the Prize: Mississippi - Is This America? (1963-1964).

In 1964, activist Bob Moses announces Freedom Summer in Mississippi. The project would send volunteers, mostly white, to join Black residents in the state to assist with education, community activities like voter registration. From Eyes on the Prize: Mississippi - Is This America? (1963-1964).

An extended excerpt of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s “I Have a Dream” at the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom in 1963. From Eyes on the Prize: No Easy Walk (1961-1963).

Reverend Andrew Young tells the story of the moment that Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. showed his “true leadership.” It began in Birmingham, Alabama where King, the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLDC) and the Alabama Christian Movement for Human Rights led a campaign of protests. From Eyes on the Prize: No Easy Walk (1961-1963).

The Civil Rights Movement discovers the power of mass demonstrations as the Reverend 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 mounting national support for civil rights. President John F. Kennedy proposes the Civil Rights Act.

"We want our freedom and we want it now." An excerpt of John Lewis's speech at the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom in 1963. From Eyes on the Prize: No Easy Walk (1961-1963).

In 1960, Fisk student and activist Diane Nash recounts the lunch counter sit-ins in Nashville, Tennessee. From Eyes on the Prize: Ain't Scared of Your Jails (1960-1961).

James Farmer, the director of the Congress of Racial Equality (CORE), explains the step-by-step procedures for the Freedom Riders from Washington, D.C. through America's South to New Orleans, Louisiana in 1961. From Eyes on the Prize: Ain't Scared of Your Jails (1960-1961).

John Lewis speaks about the planned protection detail for the Freedom Riders in Alabama, and what actually happened along the way from Birmingham to their arrival in Montgomery. From Eyes on the Prize: Ain't Scared of Your Jails (1960-1961).