Okay, so I know I am a little late with a post on the first screening of the semester, but better late than never, right? I have to say, I found Eyes on the Prize to be a real wake up call. I hate to sound repetitive because I think I may have mentioned something to this effect on the discussion board as well, but I was honestly shocked to see the extent to which racial tensions existed in this country right up through the eighties.
Obviously, one part of the documentary that really left an impression on me was the segment on the busing situation that took place in Boston. Having lived a half hour away from Boston my entire life, I couldn't believe that I had never really learned about the issue before this semester. I mean, yeah I can recall the subject being mentioned briefly by my parents, but I never fully understood the severity of the Boston busing situation. The violence that erupted over the attempt to integrate the school systems was absolutely horrifying to me and the fact that anyone would ever feel as though they had the right to mistreat someone because of the color of their skin or the fact that they wanted an equal opportunity to get a good education is completely unjust. I have heard people in the past explain racial tensions simply by saying, "thats just how it was back then", but as someone who has lived in a highly diverse city for as long as I can remember, I can't even imagine treating someone with disrespect because of their appearance, their culture, or anything of that nature. In my opinion, "thats just how it was back then" doesn't seem like a reasonable justification for what went on.
Anyway, I think that actually seeing a firsthand account of some of the racial conflicts that took place through Eyes on the Prize was an eye-opening experience, to say the least, and is something that I have learned a great deal from.
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