I've long maintained that 1987's "Eyes on the Prize," which chronicled the challenges and triumphs of the civil rights movement from 1954 to 1965, ranks among the most powerful, poignant documentaries ever made. I just couldn't remember exactly why. Its DVD debut this month gave me the excuse to review and reassess the six-hour series, and I find myself with a fresh reason to hail it.

I'm guessing that Henry Hampton's project initially impressed me with its sheer volume of information and footage -- enough to bowl over a then-19-year-old college student whose knowledge of the civil rights movement was limited to a couple of Marvin Gaye tunes and the "I Have a Dream" speech.

The history lessons -- the integration of Little Rock schools, the March on Washington, Rosa Parks' refusal to give up her bus seat -- are told with solemn narration by Julian Bond and buoyed by moving testimonies from participants, including segregationists. They still pack a wallop.

But what really moved me this time around was the passion and prominence of youth. I'm not talking about Martin Luther King Jr., even though he was only 26 when he was selected to lead the bus boycott in Montgomery, Ala. I'm talking about actual kids. I'm talking about Emmett Till, the 14-year-old who dared to talk sass to a prominent white woman in Mississippi and was beaten so furiously that authorities could identify his corpse only by the brand of his jeans.

I'm talking about John Lewis, a current U.S. representative from Georgia, who was so innocent and sheltered when he took on a leadership role that he had his first taste of Chinese food the night before the "Freedom Rides." I'm talking about the fact that the hoses and police dogs in Birmingham, Ala., were mainly aimed at students, part of what organizers called "the children's campaign." I'm talking about the moving testimony of Freedom Rider Frederick Leonard, who couldn't have been more than 20 in the early '60s, relating how he barely escaped the clutches of an angry mob and couldn't escape a pummeling in prison.

Vanguard of young people

Yes, grown-ups participated, including former Minnesotan Roy Wilkins, a leader of the NAACP during much of the movement, and Walter Mondale, who tried in vain to negotiate peace between warring Mississippi delegations at the 1964 Democratic National Convention.

But "Prize" keeps coming back to fresh-scrubbed, earnest kids being trained to deal with hecklers at lunch counters, take drives down dark, empty lanes in Klan country and walk into school knowing that they'll have to deal with something much more daunting than algebra.

What makes their contribution even more poignant is the fact that young people today don't seem to matter much when it comes to grass-roots movements. Take the Tea Party. Yes, it's a strong, vocal, growing and possibly game-changing force. But when you see those passionate crowds on TV or on the sidewalk, how many college students do you see? How many high schoolers?

I'm not saying this invalidates the Tea Party members' message, but I have to wonder: If the next generation isn't interested, why should this one be?

It's a question worth pondering, but unfortunately, it'll be harder for Twin Cities viewers to get some of the background. "Eyes on the Prize" is airing on many public TV stations throughout April -- but not here. (Tom Holter, TPT's director of programming, says the station will air it later this year.)

In the meantime, there's the DVD set -- as well as the chance to talk to today's young people about what matters to them. What's worth fighting for? What's worth dying for? What's their "prize"?

njustin@startribune.com • 612-673-7431