Born in St. Louis in 1940, Henry Hampton suffered polio as a child. After earning his BA from Washington University in St. Louis. Hampton became a renowned movie producer. His television documentary Eyes on the Prize set the standard for documenting conflicting accounts of an historical period—in this case, the civil rights movement. The first episode in Eyes on the Prize featured original footage of the Emmett Till story a disturbing event that brought greater attention to racism and lynching in the South, Hampton’s other films include The Great Depression and America’s War on Poverty, both of which received critical acclaim, He also founded and ran Blackside Productions, which was the largest African American-owned documentary film production company becoming a fertile training ground for young black filmmakers.