In a time in America when so many people seem either afraid of the past or eager to rearrange or deny the past, the six-part HBO Original Documentary Series “Eyes on the Prize III: We Who Believe in Freedom Cannot Rest 1977-2015” arrives as an important and timely record of some of the most important movements and fights for equality of the last half-century.
Inspired by Henry Hampton’s award-winning and groundbreaking two-part documentary series “Eyes on the Prize: America’s Civil Rights Movement” from 1987 and 1990, this new installment takes us from the Bronx in the 1970s to West Virginia in the 1980s to South Central Los Angeles in the 1990s to Wall Street in the 2010s to the Black Lives Matter movement that was born on social media.
Each episode kicks into gear with opening title graphics accompanied by “Eyes on the Prize (I Believe That We Will Win),” performed by Mary Williams and Fiona Brown with additional vocals by Josh Kagler & The Harmonic Praise Crusade Youth Choir. We know the one thing we did right, was the day we started to fight, keep your eyes on the prize, hold on …
This perfectly sets the tone for narratives that are told in classic documentary fashion, mixing archival news clips with present-day interviews in a straightforward style, with no unnecessary flourishes. (The stories are powerful enough to stand strong without flashy graphics or animation or even a narrator.)
Episode 1, titled “America Don’t Look Away 1977-1988,” opens with footage of the Bronx burning in 1977, with a newscaster saying it had become “the arson capital of the world.” (Even nearly a half-century later, the images of streets that look like they’d been bombed in a war, with wild dogs running around, are shocking.) Landlords could buy an occupied apartment building for $1,000, take advantage of a tax moratorium, collect rent — and then literally have it set on fire to collect insurance payments.
A group of residents came up with a plan to rebuild their block using “sweat equity,” i.e., working without pay to rehabilitate abandoned and dilapidated buildings in exchange for eventually living in the cooperative. The premiere episode also focuses on community leaders in Philadelphia such as Dr. Rashidah Abdul-Khabeer, an AIDS activist and the founder of BEBASHI (Blacks Educating Blacks About Sexual Health Issues). Her work continues to this day.
The second chapter focuses on public defenders in Washington, D.C., and local organizers in South Central Los Angeles in the late 1980s and early 1990s. In the nation’s capital, the crack epidemic led to increased prosecution and prison-building with little focus on underlying issues (not to say criminals shouldn’t be prosecuted and incarcerated), while in the Watts neighborhood in L.A., the Crips and Bloods signed a truce that included a cease-fire arrangement. Though not followed by everyone, the truce was a factor in the decline of street violence for years.
Episode 3 is all about the Million Man March of 1995, a historic event that was not without controversies, given it was the brainchild of Louis Farrakhan, who had a history of vile anti-Semitic views and comments. Still, it was one of the largest gatherings in American history, and inspired hundreds of thousands of Black men to register to vote.
The fourth chapter, titled “Spoil the Vine, 1982-2011,” takes a look at the environmental justice movement, with activists in West Virginia and Florida campaigning to protect their communities from health threats. In the town of Institute, West Virginia, a cloud of toxic chemicals escaped from a Union Carbide plant, while in Pensacola, Florida, a mound of contaminated soil became known as “Mount Dioxin.” These are just two examples of environmental inequity, i.e., the pervasiveness of toxic exposure in minority neighborhoods.
Episode 5, “We Don’t See Color, 1996-2013,” looks at the complexities of affirmative action policies, from a white candidate for Michigan Law School filing a lawsuit claiming a two-tiered system favored minorities (the U.S. Supreme Court upheld the school’s admissions policy) to a school board race in Wake County, North Carolina, in which four conservative candidates won, creating a majority that voted to end its “busing for diversity” program — a move that some called modern-day resegregation.
In the final chapter, “What Comes After Hope? 2008-2015,” we revisit the 2008 election of Barack Obama (which seems like a very, very long time ago), the Occupy Wall Street movement, the “Stand Your Ground” law in Florida, and the beginning of Black Lives Matter.
There’s a lot of material covered over the six episodes, and yes, at times it seems like you’re in a history class. Still, it’s a history class where we all benefit by paying close attention.