Eyes on the Prize: Awakenings 1954-1956

The focus that the film Eyes on the Prize: Awakenings 1954-1956 was how African Americans were segregated from the white population. Also, it showed how blacks responded to such treatment though nonviolent acts. First the movie talked about a boy by the name of Emmett Till who was beaten and brutally murdered by white men. It went on to talk about how the trail went and how the men were found innocent due largely to the fact that they were white. Next, desegregation of the Little Rock, Arkansas school was mentioned. At first, the state police would not let the nine black children into a white school, but finally, the president sent in federal soldiers to escort them into the school. From there it went on to talk about the well known Rosa Parks and community buses. Blacks boycotted riding public buses until they were allowed to sit anywhere on the bus. Sit-ins were also staged in various stores. The movie talked about the first sit-in and how as soon as the black people who were sitting at the diner were arrested another group came in and took their seats. Finally, the part that we watched in class ended with talking about how African American homes were bombed. The movie gave an in depth view of many major events that dealt with racism and segregation of people my age. In class we were asked how we or how our parents would react if we were directly faced with the events mentioned. I would like to think that I would have stood up for African American rights. However, I was raised in a predominately all white community and am not exactly sure how my grandparents and aunts and uncles reacted to it. I would like to believe that they would have supported the desegregation of races since they have a very strong pacifistic Christian faith. As for my mother, I could see her being soo worried about everyone’s safety. Being black or white, she would not want me involved anyway for fear for my safety. But I am not for sure, which makes me curious as to how my family and I would have truly acted during those times.