A New Generation’s ‘Eyes on the Prize’

Summary

Podcast Summary: All Of It – Episode: A New Generation’s ‘Eyes on the Prize’

Introduction

In the March 31, 2025 episode of All Of It, hosted by Alison Stewart from WNYC, listeners are introduced to the latest installment of the groundbreaking civil rights documentary series, "Eyes on the Prize 3: We Who Believe in Freedom Cannot Rest." This six-part series, executive produced by Dawn Porter and featuring filmmaker Geeta Gandabir, delves into the landscape of activism spanning four decades, from 1977 to 2017, building upon the legacy established by the original 1987 series directed by the late Henry Hampton.

Overview of "Eyes on the Prize 3"

Alison Stewart opens the episode by providing context about the original "Eyes on the Prize" series, highlighting its focus on the civil rights movement from 1954 to 1965 and its spotlight on iconic leaders such as Martin Luther King Jr., Malcolm X, and Fred Hampton. The new series, "Eyes on the Prize 3," continues this exploration by examining the aftermath of the civil rights movement and the evolving landscape of activism up to 2017. The series covers pivotal movements including:

• Fair Housing Access (Late 1970s)
• Healthcare Access amidst the HIV/AIDS Epidemic (1980s)
• South Central LA Organizers Post-1992 Rodney King Riots
• 21st Century Environmental Movements

A review by The Hollywood Reporter praises the series as "an emotional, inspiring, and righteously angry series of vignettes that look backward while very clearly intending to reflect upon and instigate conversations about our fraught current moment."

Preserving the Spirit of the Original Series

Dawn Porter emphasizes the intentional efforts to honor Henry Hampton’s vision. She outlines three guiding principles that shaped the production of "Eyes on the Prize 3":

1. Historical Retrospection: The series maintains a retrospective focus, similar to the original, avoiding direct commentary on contemporary politics. As Dawn Porter states at [02:20], “Eyes on the Prize is such an important piece of work in our filmography in our collective historical memory... we were going to look back, we weren't going to address the current political situation.”

2. Collaborative Filmmaking: Respecting Hampton’s approach of having different filmmakers for each episode, Porter ensures that each of the six episodes is directed by a different individual, fostering diverse perspectives and storytelling styles.

3. Highlighting Unsung Heroes: The series shifts focus from widely recognized leaders to the "ordinary people" whose grassroots efforts significantly advanced civil rights. Porter explains, “[...] it was the story of the other people who were doing, you know, work for the greater good and for the greater good of minorities.”

Deep Dive: Geeta Gandabir on the Bronx Episode

Geeta Gandabir discusses her episode, "America Don't Look Away, 1977 to 1988," which centers on grassroots activism in Philadelphia and the South Bronx during the late 70s and 80s. This segment explores the deteriorating conditions of the Bronx—a period often characterized by economic decline and social upheaval.

At [04:45], Gandabir elaborates on the motivations behind her investigation: “We wanted to understand why, but we also really wanted to bring to the forefront the people on the ground who stood up and refused to allow their community to be demolished, even though it seemed like an impossible task.” She highlights the resilience and determination of local activists who, despite facing systemic neglect and predatory practices by landlords and insurance companies, worked tirelessly to rebuild and preserve their communities.

Community Life in the Bronx: A Personal Perspective

The episode features firsthand accounts from community activists like Carol Waring, who vividly describe the vibrant and supportive community life in the Bronx. A poignant clip at [07:07] showcases Waring reminiscing:

“Kelly street was always a family place for one. We never locked our doors. If you were late or couldn't pay your rent, you got a rent party throw for you. And people would donate to help you pay your bills.” [07:07]

This narrative underscores the communal bonds and mutual support systems that existed despite the surrounding urban decay.

Challenging Misconceptions About the Bronx

Addressing prevalent stereotypes, Gandabir clarifies the true nature of the Bronx during this era. At [08:08], she asserts:

“The Bronx was such a travesty of justice that was happening again. It was front page news at the time, but it was a sort of, again, a microcosm of what was happening to folks who were economically vulnerable around the country.” [08:08]

She emphasizes that the Bronx was a vibrant hub for Black and brown communities, rich in cultural contributions like hip-hop and poetry, yet was marginalized and stigmatized by political powers. This misrepresentation often overshadowed the community’s resilience and cultural significance.

Comparative Activism Across the Nation

When prompted by Alison Stewart to compare activism in the South Bronx to other movements nationwide, Dawn Porter reflects on the universal themes of self-organization and resilience. At [09:43], she notes:

“We see consistent stories of people taking matters into their own hands in a productive way.” [09:43]

Porter draws parallels between the Bronx’s fight for housing equity and other movements addressing education, environmental justice, and civil rights across different states. She underscores the contemporary relevance of these historical struggles, highlighting the enduring spirit of activism as encapsulated by John Lewis:

“There is always something that we can do... you should never feel hopeless.” [09:43]

The Power of Archival Footage

A significant aspect of the series is its blend of archival footage with modern interviews, a technique that Dawn Porter believes enhances storytelling by providing a visceral connection to the past. At [13:47], she explains:

“It is so powerful to see people organizing, to see people being supported and also to see people being joyful.” [13:56]

This approach not only preserves the authenticity of historical events but also illustrates the emotional and communal dynamics that fueled these movements.

Memorable Archival Moments

Reflecting on impactful moments from archival footage, Geeta Gandabir shares her admiration for scenes depicting the Bronx's cultural vibrancy. At [16:04], she recounts:

“The street party that happened with the DJs... the joyful, vibrant spirit of the Bronx.” [16:04]

These images serve as a testament to the community’s enduring spirit and cultural richness, challenging narratives of decline with snapshots of resilience and creativity.

Conclusion

The episode of All Of It featuring "Eyes on the Prize 3: We Who Believe in Freedom Cannot Rest" offers a profound exploration of post-civil rights activism, highlighting the continuous struggle for equity and justice. Through insightful discussions with Dawn Porter and Geeta Gandabir, the podcast underscores the importance of grassroots movements, the power of community resilience, and the enduring relevance of historical activism in contemporary society. By intertwining personal narratives with archival footage, the series not only documents past struggles but also inspires ongoing conversations about freedom, equality, and the unyielding pursuit of justice.

Notable Quotes

• Dawn Porter [02:20]: “Eyes on the Prize is such an important piece of work in our filmography in our collective historical memory... we were going to look back, we weren't going to address the current political situation.”

• Carol Waring [07:07]: “Kelly street was always a family place for one. We never locked our doors. If you were late or couldn't pay your rent, you got a rent party throw for you. And people would donate to help you pay your bills.”

• Geeta Gandabir [08:08]: “The Bronx was such a travesty of justice that was happening again. It was front page news at the time, but it was a sort of, again, a microcosm of what was happening to folks who were economically vulnerable around the country.”

• Dawn Porter [09:43]: “There is always something that we can do... you should never feel hopeless.”

• Geeta Gandabir [16:04]: “The street party that happened with the DJs... the joyful, vibrant spirit of the Bronx.”

Final Thoughts

"Eyes on the Prize 3" serves as a vital continuation of a significant documentary legacy, offering listeners a comprehensive look at the evolution of activism over forty years. All Of It successfully encapsulates the essence of this series, making the complex history of civil rights and social justice accessible and engaging for its audience.

Transcript

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[Alison Stewart]

This is all of it on WNYC. I'm Alison Stewart. In 1987, the late filmmaker Henry Hampton released the seminal civil rights documentary series titled Eyes on the prize. Part one followed the United States through 1954 to 1965, the civil rights years. And part two focused on leaders like Martin Luther King Jr. And Malcolm X and Fred Hampton. Now a new generation of filmmakers have continued his legacy with a look at activism between the years of 1977 to 2017. The latest installment is titled Eyes on the Prize 3. We who believe in Freedom Cannot Rest. Building upon its predecessor, the six part series follows the aftermath of the civil rights movement. It spotlights community demands for access to fair housing through the late 70s, fight for health care access in the wake of the HIV, HIV and AIDS epidemic of the 80s, the work of South Central LA organizers following the 1992 Rodney King riots and the environmental movements of the 21st century. A review and the Hollywood Reporter calls the series an emotional, inspiring and righteously angry series of vignettes that look backward while very clearly intending to reflect upon and instigate conversations about our fraught current moment. Eyes on the Prize 3 is streaming now on Max. Joining us to discuss the series is executive producer Dawn Porter. Hi Dawn. Welcome back.

[Dawn Porter]

Hi Alison. Great to be here. Thanks for having us.

[Alison Stewart]

And we're also joined by filmmaker Geeta Gunbier, who directed the first episode of Eyes on the Prize titled don't look away 1977-1988. Geeta, welcome.

[Geeta Gandabir]

Thank you.

[Alison Stewart]

So Dawn, a lot of people remember you. You've done so many films, including Good Trouble about John Lewis. How did you keep the spirit of Henry Hampton's original version of Eyes on the Prize with the series?

[Dawn Porter]

That was very much top of mind for all of us. Eyes on the Prize is such an important piece of work in our filmography in our collective historical memory. And what we we kind of set forth a few kind of guide rules for ourselves. One was that we were going to look back, we weren't going to address the current political situation. And we were part of what Eyes did is it was, as you said, released in the 80s, but it was looking back to the civil rights movement from the 1950s to the 1960s and the first series. And so what we did is a look back. The second thing we did is Henry had teams of filmmakers work on each episode. And I wanted to kind of honor that spirit. So each of the six hours in Eyes three, which is our series, is directed by a different person. And then the third thing, which was extremely important is Eyes was really a celebration and, you know, an understanding of what ordinary people did to advance civil rights. John Lewis was not famous when he started his quest. And so it was examining, you know, Martin Luther King is not the big. It's not the King story in the 60s. It's the story of the other people who were doing, you know, work for the. For the greater good and for the greater good of minorities. So we also honored that. We were looking for those stories of people who were advancing civil rights and the culture in the period that are looking at.

[Geeta Gandabir]

He.

[Alison Stewart]

Let's bring you into the conversation.

[Listener/Host]

Your episode is America don't look away, 1977 to 1988.

[Alison Stewart]

And it focuses on grassroots activism in.

[Listener/Host]

Philadelphia and the South Bronx in the 70s and the 80s. In the 70s, the Bronx was burning. What did you want to investigate about why the Bronx was burning?

[Geeta Gandabir]

So I think it was incredibly important for us to look into, as you mentioned and as dawn said, the sort of unsung heroes of these. Both these locations and these time periods. And the Bronx was such a travesty of justice that was happening again. It was front page news at the time, but. And it was a sort of, again, a microcosm of what was happening to folks who were economically vulnerable around the country. But yet there was sort of a powerlessness to stop it because there it was again. It was insurance companies, it working or not working, but being manipulated by landlords. And there was the government that sort of turned a blind eye to the folks who were living in the Bronx at that time. So we really, again, we wanted to understand why, but we also really wanted to bring to the forefront the people on the ground who stood up and refused to allow their community to be demolished, even though it seemed like an impossible task. And again, these were local folks who, against all odds, who reclaimed the community. And I think an important thing to note is that for every episode of Eyes deals with a different. There's a topical issue. For example, mine is housing and health care, right? And then the other episodes go on to deal with other really significant issues that. That still, again, are, you know, are things that we struggle with or where progress has been made. Or not made in our community. So for us, the Banana Kelly episode, Banana Kelly being the organization that came together at that time to fight back and reclaim buildings and create a cooperative housing society in the Bronx. They were, again, that was the housing we were looking at housing and housing equity and equality in that episode.

[Listener/Host]

Yeah. Let's listen to a clip from your episode. This is community activist Carol Waring explaining what the community was like in the South Bronx back in the 70s and the early 80s. And it's talking a little bit about the Banana Kelly cooperative. This is from Eyes on the prize 3.

[Community Activist Carol Waring]

Kelly street was always a family place for one. We never locked our doors. If you were late or couldn't pay your rent, you got a rent party throw for you. And people would donate to help you pay your bills.

[Alison Stewart]

I'd go to their house and eat one day, they'd come to my house.

[Dawn Porter]

And eat another day.

[Alison Stewart]

We played together up and down the streets every day. Our parents went to work together. All the people were never isolated and alone.

[Community Activist Carol Waring]

They were always taken care of. If the kids did something on, let's say, Tiffany Street, Ms. Jones on Tiffany street was calling Ms. Mabel on Kelly street. And they would watch your child. It was very common for the other mothers to spank your kids, too. You know, they would beat your kids if they saw their kid doing something wrong. And then you would go home and tell and you would get another one, because that's just the way it was. It was a village.

[Alison Stewart]

Guido, what's a common misconception that people have about the Bronx at this time?

[Geeta Gandabir]

I think the Bronx at this time, this is something we tried to showcase in the way that the story was told. Again, it was this vibrant community that had built its own social networks to care for each other. They were deeply interconnected and supportive of one another. And I think, however, they were, again, more and more being seen by the political powers that be as a community that was not important. That was sort of. Again, they were. It was an impoverished community, but there were many immigrants there that had come from Puerto Rico. It was a black and brown community. And I think that it. Again, it was marginalized and deeply marginalized and forgotten. And I think the. Again, in the society that we live in, this is a microcosm of what was happening then and what continues to be an issue today. You really see, again, the local folks stepping up at that time. But it also was. What's interesting is Jimmy Carter walked those streets and saw in the 70s and the late 70s and saw opportunity, whereas Reagan came in Later. And it was a very different. I know. Took a very different tactic with the folks from the Bronx.

[Listener/Host]

Dawn, how does the activism that we see in the South Bronx compare to other movements in other parts of the country during the same era?

[Dawn Porter]

I love that question so much. I think what we saw across all of the episodes, and there is some time overlap, is we see consistent stories of people taking matters into their own hands in a productive way. So in episode five, we see people who are fighting book banning and who are not letting a school board kind of overtake the educational system. Reverend Barber played a huge part in that. In that story in North Carolina. In episode four, we see people fighting large chemical companies that are polluting. And what's so interesting to me is, although we are doing this, look back, so many of these issues are resonating today. And so this, to me is. I'm so grateful to HBO for giving us these six hours to do this. Because while right now, while we're in a period where people are trying to erase history or falsify it, these stories will stand and they will be here forever. And people will continue to speak and to fight and to organize. And I think this gives a lesson that is very resonant today, which is. And John Lewis used to say this all the time, there is always something that we can do. Some efforts are large, some are smaller, but there is always something that you can do, and you should never feel hopeless. And I think that's what all of these stories show us, is people figuring it out for themselves.

[Alison Stewart]

We're talking about the latest installment of the landmark civil rights series, Eyes on the Prize. It explores activism from 1977 to 2017. Executive producer Dawn Porter and filmmaker Geeta Gandabeer are joining me to discuss the series, which is streaming now on Max. Geeta, part of your episode, the Bronx Part of, talks about people's efforts to rebuild these abandoned buildings. What was the main incentive for people to use their own resources to remodel these buildings?

[Geeta Gandabir]

So I think it's really important to note that this was a. Again, this is a community, folks, that people did not want to leave, right? And there's a really powerful quote that at the end of sort of the Bronx section that we felt was really important, that a neighborhood is not buildings, it is not structures, it is not streets. A neighborhood is people, and a community is people. And I think what we saw in the Bronx is that the community loved where they lived, and again, they loved the culture of the Bronx. And Harry Durienzo, who's One of the folks in the film who did not grow up in the Bronx but came from Long island, also fell in love with the community because of the inter, interconnectedness, because of the social networks, because of how they took care of each other. And just this, again, this vibrant life where elderly people and children were looked after, right? And so I think this, this, this, again, this rich community, it wasn't that they wanted to leave. Nobody leaves home unless they are forced to. And I think what they came, the conclusion they came to is, again, no one's coming to save us. And Carol says this, no one's coming to save us. We have to save ourselves. And that's sort of the mantra, I think, in each of these episodes that you see is these unsung heroes doing it for themselves. And I think, as dawn said, just to echo her, it's an incredible lesson from activists throughout time and something that can really, hopefully inspire people today that there is a way forward against the impossible. But we have to, again, we have to be the ones to step up and take action.

[Listener/Host]

Dawn, the series has, it blends archival footage with modern day interviews. Why do you think this enhances the storytelling?

[Dawn Porter]

I think archival footage, I think what, what we're trying to do as filmmakers is show, not tell. And so it is so powerful to see people organizing, to see people being supported and also to see people being joyful. These people, they're motivated by a serious problem. But there is such a spark of joy. Thinking of in episode four, where communities were suffering from cancer and from all of these terrible effects of environmental pollution. And one of the women says, we looked at each other, we said, we can do this. That, you know, kind of imagination and hope that spreads to other things. Once you feel powerful, it is hard, you know, that sense of power transfers to other parts of your life. But when you have, you know, we have people who were there at the time and we're interviewing them for their look back about how significant these, these movements were. And then you get to see them and their younger selves. There's an episode about the Million Man March and about how hard it was for that to come together and all the fears. And, you know, we have Reverend Al Sharpton who, you know, was, was in the thick of advocacy then, and he talks about being kind of admonished by his elders who told him, not embarrass us. But you, you know, I think sometimes it's hard for people to imagine how you get something started, how you get it going, how you continue it, how you pull it off. And in each of these episodes, you see all of those steps. And so I think the series reinforces this idea. You know, we all do have these skills and, you know, the collective is really, really so powerful.

[Listener/Host]

And our last moments. Gita, I'm curious what piece of archival footage has really stayed with you?

[Geeta Gandabir]

So, I mean, there's so much within it, but I do have to say the images of the Bronx at that time, there's some beautiful film that, that was taken again. It's, I believe it's like 16, you know, 16 millimeter film, maybe that was taken at that time. And, and it shows the Bronx as it was and the culture and the community. And, you know, again, the street party that happened with the DJs that they would have, you know, the kind of joyful, vibrant spirit of the Bronx. And the Bronx again is like a. Is a cultural, you know, it's a cultural hub. So much came out of the Bronx. We have hip hop, we have poetry. There's. There again, the Bronx is such a critical part of American culture. And I think, you know, we obviously have. There's the Yankee Stadium. We have. There's so much. I think that the, that footage from the time that really shows you what that neighborhood was like is so beautiful. It's also so relatable. It's, I think oftentimes communities that are economically vulnerable are marginalized and sort of stigmatized. And you really see this joyful place that. And a neighborhood again, comprised of people that deserved, you know, just the. The basic human rights that we all deserve, which is like safe, equitable housing. And I think that, that, that really stayed with me.

[Listener/Host]

I'm gonna dive in here. Eyes on the prize 3. We who believe in Freedom Cannot rest. The series is on Max now. My guests have been Dawn Porter and Geeta Gandabir. Thank you for your time today.

[Dawn Porter]

Thanks so much for having us. It was really fun.

[Geeta Gandabir]

Thank you.

[Alison Stewart]

There's more.

[Listener/Host]

All of it on the way.

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