Eyes on the Prize: America's Civil Rights Years 1954–1965
The first season of the television series Eyes on the Prize is a documentary that tells the story of the Civil Rights era from the perspective of ordinary men and women. Their extraordinary actions launched a movement that changed the fabric of American life and embodied a struggle whose reverberations continue to be felt today. Specifically, this first season chronicles the time period between the United States Supr
Season 1 Lore Primer
Key plot threads, lore context, and character stakes you need to remember before diving into this season.
- The series tells the definitive story of the Civil Rights era from the viewpoint of ordinary men and women.
- The actions of these individuals launched a movement that changed the fabric of American life.
- The narrative embodies a struggle whose reverberations continue to be felt today.
- The first season specifically chronicles the time period beginning with the United States Supreme Court ruling Brown v. Board of Education in 1954.
Season overview
The first season of the television series Eyes on the Prize is a documentary that tells the story of the Civil Rights era from the perspective of ordinary men and women. Their extraordinary actions launched a movement that changed the fabric of American life and embodied a struggle whose reverberations continue to be felt today. Specifically, this first season chronicles the time period between the United States Supreme Court ruling Brown v. Board of Education in 1954 to the Selma to Montgomery marches of 1965.
Episode Guide
Season 1 Progress Shield
Awakenings, 1954-1956
Jan 21, 1987 · 60 min
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 t
Fighting Back, 1957-1962
Jan 28, 1987 · 60 min
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 segregat
Ain't Scared of Your Jails, 1960-1961
Feb 4, 1987 · 60 min
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 bus
No Easy Walk, 1962-1966
Feb 11, 1987 · 60 min
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 fai
Mississippi, Is This America, 1962-1964
Feb 18, 1987 · 60 min
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 M
Bridge to Freedom, 1965
Feb 25, 1987 · 60 min
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 rig