As Hollywood studios move forward with rolling back programs and practices that promote diversity, equity and inclusion, “Eyes on the Prize III” executive producer Dawn Porter signals that Americans are in living in an era that is reminiscent of the injustices communities fought against during the Civil Rights Rights Movement.
“This is the devastating impact of all that is happening right now; we’re still in it. We’re in 1968 right now,” told TheWrap. “I think 2024 is closer to 1968 than it is to 1988. In 1988, racism was subtle. It was less visible. In 1968, it was very clear, ‘you may not sit here.’ And that is what we’re seeing in 2024 — ‘you may not participate here. You may not teach Black history.’ It’s very clear where our enemies are, and so that story is for the next generation to write.”
Porter’s “Eyes On The Prize III: We Who Believe In Freedom Cannot Rest 1977-2015” — a follow-up to Henry Hampton’s multiple award-winning PBS 1987 documentary series — chronicles the courageous stories of people and communities fighting for equity and racial justice in the years after the Civil Rights Movement through an ensemble of archived footage and intimate sit-down interviews.
Some of the organizations and historical events spotlighted in the six-part series include the Bronx Sweat Equity program in the 1970s and the Million Man March in 1995, with prominent figures like Rep. Maxine Waters and former Vice President Al Gore taking part to share their experience and participation.
In an interview with TheWrap, Porter opened up about signing on to helm the docuseries as executive producer in 2021 — an opportunity she initially declined, her inclusive mission behind hiring six directors of color and what resistance could look like in Hollywood in President Donald Trump’s America.
TheWrap: Talk to me about the early beginnings of the series and how you got attached to it. I imagine you had to have been working on this at the same time as “Luther: Never Too Much.”
Porter: We’ve been working on this for a really long time. It started back in, I want to say 2021, is when it kind of first came together. Late 2020, early 2021…we’re coming out of the pandemic, [and] so HBO and the producers brought it to me and said, “Would you be interested in this?” Who wouldn’t be interested in “Eyes’” But at the time, I was really, really busy and so I had to think about because “Eyes on the Prize III” is this seminal story of the Civil Rights Movement — that’s a lot of pressure.
“Eyes on the Prize” is taught in … well, used to be taught in every school. So how do we honor that history? How do we live up to it, but also kind of make it what we want to make it. So to tell you the truth, I thought about it for a really long time. I said no a couple of times, because I really was like, “This is too much, I don’t know.” And then I really had a talk with myself. I was like, ‘Self, put your big girl pants on” and said, “OK, let’s, let’s do this.”
So then the idea was, how do we bring this into the present? What can we take from the original? There were a couple of things that I felt right away, really strongly about. One was, I wanted to have six directors of color. I wanted to have other people; it wasn’t going to be “The Dawn Show.” It was going to be all of us. And part of that is because they are brilliant filmmakers. Part of that is because you want all those different eyes, you want all those different experiences filling the story. And then the other thing was, to make the point that we are here. There’s so many of us that are available to tell these stories.
The very first thing we did as a group, I had everybody watch [the original] “Eyes” together. The reason I did that is because we need to remember. We need to remember who were the O.G.s of the Civil Rights Movement. But part of that thesis of ‘Eyes’ is it did not end in the 1960s; we are still doing this. So after we all watched together, we sang the theme song together because of that theme song. Then we really just spoke together about what we saw and what we felt. I think that was very moving for all of us as filmmakers: What did that series make us feel? And for me, it made me feel inspired.
We wrote a 30-page brief and then HBO really got involved with this. Not just saying this, they were all in, pushing us, “find your people.” When they came to me, I don’t know if they knew I was going to be like, “Can we have six of us and six whole teams?” That’s more expensive, that’s more to facilitate, that’s more folks to deal with. I said, “This is what Henry Hampton did. He gathered different teams to go out and find and tell these stories. That’s what we want to do.” And they backed us in doing that.
The series directors include: Geeta Gandbhir (Episode 1: “American Don’t Look Away 1977 – 1988”), Samantha Knowles (Episode 2: “Trapped: 1989 – 1995”), Muta’Ali (Episode 3: “Million Man March: 1995″), Rudy Valdez (Episode 4: Spoil the Vine: 1982 – 2011″), Smriti Mundhra (Episode 4: We Don’t See Color: 1996 – 2013″) and Leslie Asako Gladsjo (Episode 6: What Comes After Hope? 2008 – 2015”).
“Eyes on the Prize III” is a record of the people’s fight against injustices over the years since the Civil Rights Movement. What stood out to me was how it begins with “the fight for equality continues” as a preface before the series starts. With the rollbacks of DEI practices, Black and Brown TV shows being cut after one season and filmmakers of color still receiving less funding than white filmmakers, what’s your take on what’s happening right now in Hollywood?
What would we do if we didn’t have Issa Rae, if we didn’t have Cord Jefferson’s brilliant, brilliant film [“American Fiction”]. If we didn’t have Anthony Mackie as Captain America, what does the world look like when we are not there?
We are not defined by a three letter word that is essentially kind of appropriated by evil forces. We do not have a piece of the pie that is this big, that is set aside for us — we are everywhere. We are not “diversity” stories, we are great stories. So I don’t need a three letter word in order to pitch the stories that I love, and to bring my take to them.
You can cancel all the programs you want. That doesn’t mean you cancel us. You cannot cancel us. We have great ideas and we have to push for them. That also means, though, we have to recognize that some people are going to use the excuse of “There’s no DEI” to limit our exposure, and that is what we have to fight back against. We need everybody to be saying, I want these stories, I want these people.
Can you imagine entertainment without Black people? That is ridiculous. If we allow people to define our possibility, that’s when we lose. You do not define my possibility. So do I have to be more creative and work harder, probably. And you know what? That’s just the way it is. Yeah, and that’s not going to change, but my energy is best spent in looking for opportunities and then bringing people in.
What could resistance look like in Hollywood as it pertains these inequities and inequalities?
That is one of the most important questions, but it’s not just a question for Black and Brown folks. It’s a question for audiences. When our stories are suppressed or not published, everybody loses out.
So HBO comes to me with “Eyes.” I brought six other people, all of their teams, that gave work to 50-to-75 people who now have this credit. That is how you resist. You give people the work, but we also demand excellence. All of these directors are excellent, all of their producers are excellent, and working with each other, exposing all of the people below the line to these excellent people to this big platform, that’s what we need. We need those opportunities to bring folks up and have them be ready for when the big call comes. And that’s the obligation of anybody who has a job: How can you help somebody who doesn’t have a job who is great?
How did you go about finding your subjects and events you wanted to feature? Did you already know what stories you wanted to tackle?
We did not know what stories. So each of the directors kind of went out with the first task: to go out and pitch a number of different stories. And so the one kind of unifying thing was, we want ordinary people. I think one of the things that is so important about having a longer form, having more time to explain, is we can make connections between movements, and we can also tell the backstory. My husband went to Million Man March, I didn’t know how it came together. And this Million Man March story is a great example of taking back the narrative.
The narrative was, at the time, and I lived in Washington, DC at the time. At the time it was, ‘Oh, there’s going to be violence. We can’t do it because it’s Minister Farrakhan.’ People had to work through those questions and think. Ultimately, ‘Eyes On the Prize.’ The prize is quality. The Million Man March was a calling, and Black men needed to feel called and to feel seen in all of their full humanity. They were just being portrayed as violent predators everywhere, and so that day was so important for people to come together and look around and to see each other and to say, “Wait, this is who we are. We were taking back our narrative.”
There’s something in all of these stories, but I think when you look at the series as a whole, something you said is really, really important, which is discrimination may not always be obvious. And so what we need to be looking at is, is to pull back and think what are those systems that are holding people back and harming people. And that’s where our energy needs to go. I don’t care if Trump calls himself a king; he’s a fool. OK, I care if he’s cutting off aid to poor children, he’s cutting off medicine and if he’s enabling people to steal my social security number so that they can terrorize me, that I care about. I don’t care if you want to call yourself a king. Have at it.
As we’ve mentioned there’s still a lot going on, still much more work to be done, still more justice to fight for. Do you have any plans to continue working the series for a next installment?
One of the things that was really important to us is “Eyes on the Prize” was a look back. In the 80s, they were looking back to the 60s and what those movements meant. So we’re in the 2020s, and we’re looking back to 20 years earlier and seeing what those movements meant. So it’s going to be for the next generation of filmmakers to look back on our stories.
This is the devastating impact of all that is happening right now, we’re still, we’re in it. We’re in 1968 right now. I think 2024 is closer to 1968 than it is to 1988. In 1988 racism was subtle. It was less visible. In 1968 it was very clear. You may not sit here, and that is what we were seeing in 2024; you may not participate here. You may not teach Black history. It’s very clear where our enemies are, and so that story is for the next generation to write.
But I think telling these stories and reminding people that we have been here before … Vernon Jordan always used to say this, “We have been here before.” John Lewis would say that. John Lewis, I can hear his voice saying, “There is always something that you can do. If you are tired on Monday, you can be nice to somebody. That’s what you can do on Monday.” If you are feeling very energetic, you can organize something. But there is always something you can do. And that’s what all of these stories tell us. So there’s always something that we can do, and we are going to do it.”
This conversation has been edited for clarity and length.
“Eyes On The Prize III: We Who Believe In Freedom Cannot Rest 1977-2015” releases new episodes through Thursday on HBO and streams on Max.
