Henry Hampton Collection

Henry Hampton (1940-1998) was a St. Louis native and a 1961 graduate of WashU. In 1968, he established his Boston-based company Blackside, Inc., which quickly became the largest African-American-owned film production company of its time. Hampton’s work in documentary film chronicled the 20th century’s great political and social movements focusing on the lives of the poor and disenfranchised. In addition to the landmark series Eyes on the Prize I and II (1987, 1990), Hampton’s other documentaries include The Great Depression (1993), Malcolm X: Make It Plain (1994), America’s War on Poverty (1995), Breakthrough: The Changing Face of Science in America (1997), I’ll Make Me a World: A Century of African-American Arts (1998); Hopes on the Horizon (1999) and This Far by Faith (2003).

America's War on Poverty

America’s War on Poverty was originally broadcast in 1995 as a five-part series on PBS. The documentary was created by Blackside, Inc., and covers events that took place after President Johnson declared an “unconditional war on poverty.”

Eyes on the Prize: America's Civil Rights Years 1954-1965

Eyes on the Prize is a 14-part series which was originally released in two parts: Eyes I in 1987 and Eyes II in 1990. This series, which debuted on PBS stations, is considered to be the definitive documentary on the Civil Rights Movement. “Eyes on the Prize” won more than twenty major awards and attracted over 20 million viewers.

Eyes on the Prize: America at the Racial Crossroads 1965–1985

Airing on public television in 1990, as the second half of the landmark 14-part series Eyes on the Prize, Eyes on the Prize: America at the Racial Crossroads 1965-1985, explores the tumultuous history of civil rights after the passage of the Voting Rights Act, including the movement of activism from the South into Northern cities, the rise of Black Power and the Black Panthers, the assassinations of Malcolm X and Martin Luther King, Jr., civil unrest in cities such as Detroit, tensions over school busing programs, and increasing African American engagement in local and national politics.

All 183 interviews conducted for Eyes on the Prize II constitute a treasure trove of first-hand information about the civil rights movement that can be utilized by students, scholars, and media makers. The interviews include innumerable stories from one of the most complex times in American history, beginning with the rise of Malcolm X and culminating in the election of Chicago's first African American mayor, Harold Washington, in 1983. Interviewees include many of the most significant public figures and activists of the time, including Alex Haley, Ossie Davis, Mary Frances Berry, Amiri Baraka, Mike Wallace, Sonia Sanchez, George Romney, Bobby Seale, Harry Belafonte, and many others, both well-known and less-known.

Eyes on the Prize Educational Outreach

These videos document two institutes for secondary school and college educators that Henry Hampton’s Blackside Inc. held on November 17, 1989 and July 8-12, 1990. These events were hosted by the production company’s non-profit subsidiary, the Civil Rights Project, Inc., the Museum of Afro-American History, and Tufts University. The conferences addressed how teachers could successfully incorporate Blackside’s groundbreaking documentary on the Civil Rights Movement, Eyes on the Prize (1987-1900), into their classrooms.