Part of Penn State's annual Martin Luther King Jr. celebration, "We Won't Stop Here," will feature a film series entitled, "Eyes on the Prize," which will show on the big-screen television at 11 a.m. today and tomorrow in the HUB-Robeson Center. The series will also be shown at 11 a.m. on Monday and Tuesday.

Thomas Poole, chairman of the Dr. Martin Luther King Commemoration Committee and associate vice provost for educational equity, said the film has been shown campus-wide since 1986 when the series was first released.

"It's been used in classes and frequently during Martin Luther King and Black History Day events," Poole said.

Some students are already familiar with the commentary.

Josiah Green (senior- journalism) remembers first seeing the film in high school and then later during his freshman year in an African and African American Studies course.

"It's a complex story," Green said. "It breaks down a lot of stereotypes. It shows the civil rights movement was well in planning before Martin Luther King came along."

The series began as a six-volume compilation of one-hour segments. Poole is optimistic about the ongoing influence of the film series, which will be shown in loop increments to accomodate students' schedules.

"Each of them looks at a different component of the civil rights movement," Poole said. "This is probably the finest video of the civil rights history that has been produced to date."

Poole said a second series, which came out shortly after the first one, traced civil rights through the 1970s and mid-1980s.

Dianne Nash, whose story is featured in the film series, will be a keynote speaker at the Martin Luther King Jr. evening celebration, at 7 p.m. Monday in Eisenhower Auditorium, said Adam Tarosky, a co-director of "We Won't Stop Here."

Nash, a former college activist, was instrumental in helping eliminate segregation and helped with the 1964 Civil Rights Act, Tarosky said.

" 'Eyes on the Prize' is a fundamental documentation of the civil rights movement," Tarosky said. "Instead of reading a history book, you are actually getting names to see how different individuals express concerns, but united toward a common cause to eliminate segregation."

For students, observing Martin Luther King Jr. Day may also mean attending commemorative events or serving outlying communities.

Walter DeShields (senior-English) plans to see the movie this week, and will discuss issues currently facing black inner-city youths with students at a Pittsburgh high school on Monday.

DeShields expressed concern that the film would not reach a campus-wide audience.

"A lot of students of non-color won't turn out," DeShields said of the film. "While it's beneficial, the attraction might not be there."