Ep 5. Mississippi: Is This America? - 1963-1964

In season 1 episode 5 of Eyes on the Prize titled "Mississippi: Is This America? - 1963-1964", viewers witness the brutal civil rights struggles in one of America's most segregated and racist states. This episode chronicles the struggles and successes of the civil rights movement in Mississippi during the early 1960s, one of the most violent and tumultuous periods in American history.

The episode starts with the story of Medgar Evers, a civil rights activist who was assassinated in front of his family in their own front yard. We see his widow Myrlie Evers fighting to keep his memory alive and continuing his legacy by becoming an important figure in the civil rights movement. We also learn about the work of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC), an organization that played a pivotal role in the civil rights movement, especially in Mississippi.

The episode moves on to highlight the Freedom Summer of 1964, a bold and dangerous attempt to register as many Black voters as possible in Mississippi. We see White activists, many of them from the North, come to Mississippi to help with the voter registration drive, risking their lives to fight for justice and equality. The Freedom Summer is met with violent resistance and we see the murder of three young civil rights volunteers, James Chaney, Andrew Goodman, and Michael Schwerner, who were abducted and killed by members of the Ku Klux Klan. We also see the efforts of the Federal government to bring the murderers to justice, which faced many challenges due to the racist and corrupt legal system in Mississippi.

The episode also highlights the work of Fannie Lou Hamer, a Black woman from Mississippi who became an important voice for civil rights. She shares her powerful testimony about the brutal treatment she and other Black activists faced while trying to register to vote. We see her speech at the Democratic National Convention in 1964, where she talks about the violence and racism in Mississippi and calls for change.

Throughout the episode, we see footage of the violence and brutality faced by civil rights activists in Mississippi, including the use of dogs and firehoses to control protesters and the violence that erupted in places like Birmingham and Selma. We also hear from activists and historians who provide context and analysis for the events that took place.

"Mississippi: Is This America? - 1963-1964" is a powerful and moving episode that sheds light on the struggles, challenges, and triumphs of the civil rights movement in one of America's most difficult and violent moments in history. Through the stories of Medgar Evers, Myrlie Evers, Fannie Lou Hamer, and the many activists who risked their lives to fight for justice, viewers gain a deeper understanding of the sacrifices and perseverance that made the movement possible.