A sign reads "white waiting room." A black man is beaten after trying to sit at a whites-only lunch counter. A young civil rights activist tells an interviewer, "I am very much afraid."

Viewers silently watched these scenes at the National Association of Black Journalists' showing of the civil rights documentary, Eyes on the Prize, yesterday.

Combining old footage with present-day interviews and voice-over narration, the first installment, "Awakenings," reconstructed two major events in the civil rights movement -- the 1955 murder of 14- year-old Emmett Till in Mississippi, and the Montgomery, Ala., bus boycotts beginning the same year.

Afterwards, about 15 people gathered to discuss the documentary and issues it raised. Most agreed that although it only covers up to 1965, Eyes on the Prize is relevant today.

Ramona Ward, who recently moved here from Mississippi, said she found watching the documentary "enraging" because she remembers seeing black people suffering discrimination and living in extreme poverty as recently as last year.

"It's not that far removed at this point," she said.

Joylette Hairston (senior-general arts and sciences) said she could relate to the feelings of the protesters in the documentary from her own experience. Hairston said she participated in the April 1988 takeover of the Telecommunications Building, during which students demanded administrative action to improve a University climate they said was insensitive to minorities.

"When you actually see policemen coming, and you see helmets and sticks and handcuffs -- we started crying," she said. At that point, she added, she realized that fighting for something means sticking it out until the end.

While agreeing that the documentary was powerful and moving, Dean of the School of Communications Brian Winston said viewers should remember that it was constructed by film makers.

"It's still the prisoner of what got photographed and what didn't," he said. He added that in order for the documentary to appeal to a wide range of people, directors often have to simplify events.

"It's not sins of commission. It's sins of omission," he said. "The series . . . tries to tell us a dramatic story to hold our attention."

The group also compared documentaries to films fictionalizing historic events such as last year's Mississippi Burning. Opinions differed over what responsibilities the film industry has when making such films. While some said that movies are simply entertainment, others argued that the industry should be conscious of their effect on the public.

"The social arena is where people pick up thoughts and ideas . . . and the social arena is where you get entertainment," said NABJ chapter secretary Jeff Ballou.

NABJ will continue to show installments of Eyes on the Prize at 2 p.m. every Sunday until Feb. 18, Ballou said. The showings will be held in Room 4 Carnegie Building.

Chris Patterson, coordinator of minority affairs for the School of Communications, said it would be beneficial for students, faculty and townspeople to attend the showings.

"Basically, they have been educated in a school system that has neglected African-Americans," she noted.