[Air-l] ALERT: Eyes On The Prize

Art McGee amcgee at virtualidentity.org
Wed Jan 26 18:10:20 PST 2005


FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

January 26, 2005

Eyes on the Screen

"Eyes on the Prize", Civil Rights Documentary, To Be 
Released Over the Internet Despite Copyright Disputes

A day of public screenings of the legendary documentary,
to be organized for February 8th, 2005

HYPERLINK: http://www.eyesonthescreen.org

According to some, it's illegal for makers of the civil 
rights documentary "Eyes on the Prize" to put it on DVD or 
show it in public. But at 8:00 PM on February during Black 
History Month, Downhill Battle (downhillbattle.org) is 
encouraging Americans to celebrate the struggle and triumph 
of the civil rights movement with screenings of "Eyes on the 
Prize" in homes and public places with the goal of having a 
screening in every major city in America. The campaign is 
called Eyes on the Screen.

"Eyes on the Prize" is the most comprehensive and revered 
civil rights documentary ever made. But the documentary has 
not been available for public viewing for the past 10 years 
because of unreasonable copyright laws that impose stifling 
restrictions on artists and filmmakers. In one instance, 
copyright holders believe they should receive licensing fees 
for the song "Happy Birthday," which appears in footage of a 
group of people singing to Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

"To celebrate Black History Month, we believe that "Eyes
on the Prize" should be seen by as many people as possible," 
says Tiffiniy Cheng of Downhill Battle. "The civil rights 
movement is just too important for this invaluable resource 
to be denied to the public. So, we're going to help 
distribute "Eyes on the Prize" to a mass audience and 
communities can have screenings."

"Eyes on the Prize is one of the most effective 
documentaries ever put together that dealt with civic 
engagement," says civil rights leader Lawrence Guyot. "This 
is analogous to stopping the circulation of all the books 
about Martin Luther King, stopping the circulation of all 
the books about Malcolm X, stopping the circulation of books 
about the founding of America... I would call upon everyone 
who has access to 'Eyes on the Prize' to openly violate any 
and all laws regarding its showing."

"Eyes on the Prize" is an award-winning 14-volume 
documentary made by the late Henry Hampton, tracking the 
Civil Rights Movement from 1954 to 1965. Clayborne Carson, a 
Stanford University history professor, has said, "It is the 
principal film account of the most important American social 
justice movement of the 20th century" (Wired News, 12/22/04).

"Eyes on the Prize" was the first introduction to the 
history of the Civil Rights Movement for millions of 
people," says Nicholas Reville of Downhill Battle, "But our 
corporatized copyright system is keeping it locked away."

"The situation of "Eyes on the Prize" is a perfect example 
of why copyright law isn't working for the public," says 
Cheng. "It's ridiculous that this documentary is languishing 
in copyright purgatory, instead of being shown in classrooms.
"Eyes on the Screen" is a perfect example of how people can
bring attention to bad copyright law and start turning the 
situation around."

For background, see this article:

http://washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A14801-2005Jan16.html

Contact:

Lawrence Guyot,
Former Leader of the Mississippi Freedom Democratic Party
w: (202)727-4742
h: (202)332-5157

Tiffiniy Cheng,
Co-Director of Downhill Battle
w: (508)963-1096
e: tyc at downhillbattle.org

Nicholas Reville,
Co-Director of Downhill Battle
w: (508)963-7832
e: npr at downhillbattle.org

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