Henry Hampton

Henry Eugene Hampton Jr. (8 January 1940 – 22 November 1998) was an African-American filmmaker. His production company, Blackside, Inc., produced over 80 programs—the most recognizable being the documentary Eyes on the Prize, which won Emmy Awards, Peabody Awards, and was nominated for an Oscar. Blackside became one of the largest minority-owned non-theatrical film production companies in the U.S. during the mid-1970s and until his death in the late 1990s. Biography Early life and education Hampton was the son of surgeon Henry Hampton Sr. and Julia Veva Hampton, raised in Richmond Heights, Missouri, a suburb adjacent to the western edge of St. Louis. Henry lived on the eastern edge of an all-black working class community. His family converted to Catholicism after St Louis Archbishop Joseph Ritter led desegregation efforts in the region.