Eyes on the Prize, Series Two: A Conference for Educators

Conference held on November 17, 1989 at Tufts University.  This day long conference was co-sponsored by the Civil Rights Project, Inc., the Museum of Afro-American History and Tufts University.  As laid out in the registration brochure for the conference, the goal was "to encourage and strengthen teaching about the Civil Rights Movement and, in particular, to facilitate the effective use of 'Eyes on the Prize." 

The recorded conference proceedings have been separated into specific panels and group discussions as follows:

"Opening Remarks" with Robert Hollister of Tufts and Monica Fairbairn of the Museum of Afro-American History.  Henry Hampton, founder of Blackside, Inc. and executive producer of Eyes on the Prize, discusses the success of Eyes on the Prize I, and the state of production for Eyes on the Prize II.  He also answers questions from the audience.

"Discussion Group" led by Bill Parsons focusing on how educators started using Eyes on the Prize I in the classroom.  This is preceded with Henry Hampton answering questions from the audience.

"Producers Panel" featuring Judy Richardson, Callie Crossley, Lillian Benson, Paul Jeffrey Stekler, and Jacqueline Shearer.  The panelists discuss working on Eyes on the Prize I and Eyes on the Prize II.  They also answer questions from the audience. 

"Rough Cut Discussion Group" led by Bill Parsons. A rough cut clip of Muhammad Ali's refusal to fight in Vietnam from episode "Ain't Gonna Shuffle No More" from Eyes on the Prize II is shown with participants discussing it afterwards.  Another clip (that is not included in this recording) was a similar rough cut of the affirmative action that was included in "The Keys to the Kingdom" episode from Eyes on the Prize II, with discussion following.

"Successful Uses of Eyes on the Prize in the Classroom" is a panel discussion moderated by Steve Cohen and includes teachers Ron Bennett, Daryl Durham, and Esther Kattef who discuss ways in which they incorporated Eyes on the Prize I into their curriculum.  Recordings of works created by students are shown.  Barbara Howard also presents on her findings from interviews conducted with educators on how they incorporated Eyes on the Prize I into their classrooms.

The day long conference ends with "Closing Remarks" with Jack Mendelsoh, President of the Civil Rights Project, Inc. talking about the hopes of ensuring the archive of material created and gathered by Blackside, Inc. would be accessible in the future.  Lastly, Vincent Harding discusses the importance of teaching on and about the history of the Civil Rights Movement, as well as discussing his book "Hope and History: Why We Must Share the Story of the Movement," that he wrote in coordination with Blackside, Inc.