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Through historical footage and contemporary interviews there are eight hour-long programs that examine the triumphs and failures of individuals and communities eager to give flesh to the Black movement's hard-won gains. The series also probes the transition to a more challenging time in this country's social history.
Eyes on the Prize II takes viewers from the streets of Malcolm X's Harlem to Oakland and the birth of the Black Panthers; from the frustrations of rioters in Detroit and Miami to the victory celebration for Harold Washington, Chicago's first black mayor; from ringside with Muhammad Ali to the "Mountain Top" speech of Martin Luther King on the eve of his assassination.
In 'Ain't Gonna Shuffle No More' (1964-1972) -- a new sense of black pride and black consciousness is evidenced by a prizefighter name Cassius Clay (a.k.a. Muhammad Ali), on the campus of Howard University in Washington, DC, and at the National Black Political Convention in Gary, Indiana. Harry Belafonte says of Ali, "[He] was the embodiment of the thrust of the movement…He didn't care about money. He didn't care about the white man's success…He brought America to its most wonderful and most naked moment. [He said] I will not play your game. I will not kill in your behalf."
Key interviews:
* Sonia Sanchez, poet and teacher
* Angelo Dundee, Muhammad Ali's trainer
* Herbert Muhammad, Muhammad Ali's manager and son of Elijah Muhammad
* Kareem Abdul Jabbar, high-school basketball player
* Floyd Patterson, former heavyweight champion
* Harry Belafonte, entertainer and civil rights activist
* Paula Giddings, Howard University student
* Kenneth Clark, Howard University trustee
* Richard Hatcher, mayor of Gary, Indiana
* Imamu Amiri Baraka, poet and community organizer
* Jesse Jackson, national president, Operation PUSH (People United to Save Humanity)
* Ben Chavis, community organizer for United Church of Christ Commission for Racial Justice(WUFMA) |
