Eyes on the Prize ain’t afraid of your rails is one of the films that indicate the active roles played by the youth in the leadership of civil rights movements. The youth who participated in the civil rights movements in this film developed unique strategies that helped in promoting change. The film eyes on the prize compare with the ‘Black Lives Matter movement in different ways since the youth also played huge roles in spreading the ‘‘Black Lives Matter” message. This essay compares and contrasts the role and involvement of young people in the film and the BLM movement.
Eyes on the Prize resulted in the emergence of a movement that was geared towards addressing the continued oppression of African Americans. With the continued segregation of African Americans, the youth needed to develop strategies that could enlighten the blacks about their rights (Williams, 2013). On the other hand, the Black lives movement was formulated after Trayvon Martin was shot killed. The murder of Trayvon in 2013 prompted the formation of diverse regional coalitions that were geared towards fighting for racial justice and equality.
One of the main similarities between the film and the Black Lives Matter movement relates to the active roles played by the youth especially students. According to the film, students established nonviolent coordinating committees whose primary role was to take part in lunch counter sit-ins and freedom rides. The organized lunch sit-ins were able to attract students from different backgrounds. White students from the North and South also played significant roles in advocating for the mission of the movement. On the other hand, when analyzing the BLM movement, students were also influential towards its success. Students used various social media platforms to propagate resources and disseminate information to their peers (Taylor, 2016). Subsequently, students were able to share links about petitions and shared videos that were linked to police brutality. With more students spearheading behind the BLM movement, different other movements were formulated (Taylor, 2016). The film and the BLM movement are among the responses that were geared towards addressing the increasing views towards racism and social inequalities in the United States.
References
Taylor, K. Y. (2016). From# BlackLivesMatter to black liberation. Haymarket Books.
Williams, J. (2013). Eyes on the Prize: America’s civil rights years, 1954-1965. Penguin.
