Summary Of Eyes Off The Prize By Carol Anderson

Eyes off the Prize by Carol Anderson is a historical narrative that examines the struggle of various African American organizations to raise the issue of human rights before the United Nations in the aftermath of World War II. Throughout 1944-1955, several organizations such as the NAACP, National Negro Congress (NNC), and Civil Rights Congress played important roles in the protection of U.S. human rights policies. She focuses on the NAACP and their mission to end segregation and inequality in America but with the rise of anti-communism and start of the Cold War powerful Southerners were able to dismiss this offensive, which then began the Civil Rights Movement. Anderson’s mission is not to examine the struggle for civil rights, but instead the true “prize” that is human rights in order to answer why inequality was still prominent post Civil Rights Movement.

She pays great attention to the papers revealing the roles of the two U.S. presidents, U.S. Senate and the State Department through Eleanor Roosevelt. The debates about the formation of the UN, UN Charter itself, Universal Declaration of Human rights, and first major human rights treaties were also crucial sources in her work. Anderson also incorporated information from newspapers such as the New York Times to stay current on the political events going on at the time. Secondary sources such as the works of other professors from different universities also allowed her to have a multi-perspective view during this time frame. Anderson’s meticulous incorporation of newspapers, documents, debates, and papers for other professors allowed some light to be shed on a topic not well examined at the time with complex but validated