LanguageTeach

Eyes on the Prize

The PBS documentary, Eyes on the Prize, is available upon request in the ESL Lab. The first segment, The Awakenings, documents the stories of Emmett Till and Rosa Parks. The following is excerpted from the introduction to the series and depicts the social fabric of the southern states prior to the Civil Rights Act of 1964.

In a ten-year period during the 1950s and 1960s, a second revolution was fought in the South by blacks and whites. It was fought on the streets. It was fought in churches, courts, and schools to make America be America for all of its citizens. In the south, segregation was a complete environment, socially and psychologically. It was a way of keeping blacks and whites apart by custom and by law. As various events awakened the consciences of blacks and whites, people asked the following questions: What is an inalienable right? What is equal treatment under the law? What is liberty and justice for all? These were the American ideals from which blacks had been excluded and for which blacks and whites began to fight. It was a hard fight, but the prize was freedom and no American could afford to lose.

Watch the introduction and the first segment of The Awakenings. It narrates the story of Emmett Till, a 14-year-old black youth from Chicago who went to Mississippi to visit his uncle. This young boy had never experienced the reality of segregated southern culture. Viewing the story of the hideous crime committed against him will give you the background information necessary to understand the social and racial fabric in the novel To Kill A Mockingbird, the literature you will be reading in ESL 91. It will also give you content for a narrative essay about Emmett Till.

To view this video with a group of classmates, find out a time that is good for up to 15 and schedule L-123 for a viewing time. The instructional assistant in the ESL Lab, Diane Borella, can arrange this for you. The extension is 3852. The video may not be checked out of the lab except by instructors for classroom use. It takes approximately 30 minutes for the introduction and the segment on Emmett Till.