The video documents an integration process at Central High School in Little Rock, AR and the University of Mississippi (Ole Miss). The film involves a documentary with lots of scenes from the events themselves and interviews with the actual people involved. In fact, it presents the struggle of civil rights by students in the area in which black oppression in school admissions were the order of the day. According to the nature of events in the script, the definition of civil rights is visualized with respect to the main actors. Studying the views and complains of the main characters makes us ask the question of what civil rights really are. By predictable perspectives from what is fought for in the film, civil rights can be defined as a group of rights that watch an individual’s freedom against oppression or exploitation by other individuals, government, or non-government organizations (Doug). Civil rights cover all forms of discrimination against an individual with respect to the patriotic responsibilities of a citizen with respect to his/her state.
In a descriptions created by the narrator, “A school year like no other”, he strives to table the events that happened in 1957-58 year of study at Central High School in Little Rock, Ark. It narrates of about 50 years, through the past after greatly armed federal troops stormed into the Central High School coupled with nine African American students. Therefore, the film narrates the experiences that a certain number of students in class underwent to stop white and black racial segregation. Essentially, civil rights in this context refer to those aspects of their social and educational lives that were advocated over the years through those who ensured that racial segregation was eliminated. In fact, the film attempts to critically examine aspects of resistance that overshadowed school integration efforts.
The difference between civil rights and civil liberties is virtually demonstrated in the film. As both definitions follow the same concept with respect to the protected individual, they deviate when it comes to state specific preferences. Civil rights are not specific in nature and addresses oppression and discrimination. On the other hand, civil liberties are spelt out by the government to help protect its citizens from specific aspects of discrimination (Feagin and Hernan). In the context of Eyes on the Prize- Fighting Back film, the omission of freedom of education in any school within the state isolated African American students from attending schools that were dominated by the whites. What the characters were filmed to advocate was not considered as a civil liberty (with respect to the government of the day) but was evidently a civil right (Project). This was the mentality behind the troops who forcefully admitted the nine African American students into the school.
This video demonstrates the fight for civil rights through the numerous situational cases that it presents on the experiences of those individuals who took a great part in ensuring that racial segregation was abolished. The film tables this aspect as a long fought war that began with what the troops did in Central High School, in Little Rock. Also, the film creates out an overall image of the contemporary situation with respect to this discrimination. A comparative study of the historical and contemporary perspectives gives the overall performance or outcomes of this struggle. Moreover, the effect of federalism can be termed to take effect as it was developing in the states.
This means that, it took part in the struggle through presenting a platform that empowered the characters who took part in the struggle. It gave them the virtual certification (backup) they required in their struggle to ensure segregation in schools was completely removed. To be specific, the federal government changed a number of rules that did not favor the rights of the black population in the state government statutes. As a matter of fact, it omitted large portions of liberal citizen rights that were later included by the federal government. This means that the federal government recognized the grievances of African American population. In a move to ensure racial equality, they initiated modifications in the state government that raised the level of African American population to a perceived level ground. Additionally, this is shown in the film by the numerous instances in which federal laws spelt out the wrath of African American students in schools as a result of racial segregation.
In conclusion, a comparative analysis of the situation in schools in the contemporary society and those 50 years ago shows great success in the abolition of such discriminative acts like racial segregation in American schools. Primarily, the film presents a situational analysis of the experience the first African American students in those schools went through. Comparing these activities with what happens in schools today, it can be tabled that great improvement has been recorded. In fact, the development of free schools in which no discrimination with respect to race or color, have heightened the rate of this achievement. This development can be attributed to those who fought in the struggle for rights (such as the characters in the film) for not only students but for rational equality for all irrespective of color or racial origin. This is depicted in the film by the virtual pictures created at the beginning the end of the storyline. Generally, a walk in a standard score of schools in any state, in America will prove the rate to which racial segregation has been compressed; however, complete compression of the social experience cannot be called for at this moment given the social structure of the schools and other social arenas.
Works Cited
Doug, B. ""From Fighting the Drug War to Protecting the Right to Use Drugs - Recognizing a Forgotten Liberty." Towards a Worldwide Index of Human Freedom (2012): 253-280.
Feagin, J and V Hernan. White Racism: The Basics. New York: Routledge, 1995.
Project, Zinn Education. “A School Year Like No Other”: Eyes on the Prize: “Fighting Back: 1957-1962″. 01 01 2014. 08 02 2014 <http://zinnedproject.org/materials/a-school-year like-no-other/>.
