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March #1
March: Book One
Goodreads Choice Award
Nominee for Best Graphic Novels & Comics (2013)March is a vivid first-hand account of John Lewis' lifelong struggle for civil and human rights, meditating in the modern age on the distance traveled since the days of Jim Crow and segregation. Rooted in Lewis' personal story, it also reflects on the highs and lows of the broader civil rights movement.
Book One spans John Lewis' youth in rural Alabama, his life-changing meeting with Martin Luther King, Jr., the birth of the Nashville Student Movement, and their battle to tear down segregation through nonviolent lunch counter sit-ins, building to a stunning climax on the steps of City Hall.
Many years ago, John Lewis and other student activists drew inspiration from the 1950s comic book Martin Luther King and the Montgomery Story. Now, his own comics bring those days to life for a new audience, testifying to a movement whose echoes will be heard for generations.
(Back flap)
Book One spans John Lewis' youth in rural Alabama, his life-changing meeting with Martin Luther King, Jr., the birth of the Nashville Student Movement, and their battle to tear down segregation through nonviolent lunch counter sit-ins, building to a stunning climax on the steps of City Hall.
Many years ago, John Lewis and other student activists drew inspiration from the 1950s comic book Martin Luther King and the Montgomery Story. Now, his own comics bring those days to life for a new audience, testifying to a movement whose echoes will be heard for generations.
(Back flap)
128 pages, Paperback
First published August 13, 2013
About the author
John Lewis
36 books870 followersJohn Robert Lewis was the U.S. Representative for Georgia's 5th congressional district, serving since 1987 and was the dean of the Georgia congressional delegation. He was a leader in the American Civil Rights Movement and chairman of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC), playing a key role in the struggle to end segregation. He was a member of the Democratic Party and was one of the most liberal legislators.
Barack Obama honoured Lewis with the Presidential Medal of Freedom, and they marched hand in hand in Selma on the 50th anniversary of the Bloody Sunday attack (March 7, 1965).
Barack Obama honoured Lewis with the Presidential Medal of Freedom, and they marched hand in hand in Selma on the 50th anniversary of the Bloody Sunday attack (March 7, 1965).
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 5,903 reviews
July 18, 2020
This first volume of the graphically realized three-part autobiography of civil rights stalwart John Lewis covers the congressman’s life from his days as a poor farm boy dreaming of becoming a preacher to his work as an organizer of the 1960 lunch counter sit-ins in Nashville and the founding of the Students’ Non-Violent Coordinating Committee. As it it shifts from its frame story—a gathering of Lewis with friends and constituents minutes before Obama’s first inauguration—to the tales Lewis relates of his early years, the book manages to convey both the heroism and charm of the man, his steadfastness, his shrewd strategic mind, and his loving, almost childlike simplicity.
Nate Powell, the graphic artist and co-author, makes the excellent choice of stark black-and-white illustrations to tell John Lewis’ story. They evoke the 60’s news films of the civil rights era, at times suggesting a noir-like menace, at other times a quiet melancholy. Very effective too are his scenes of crowds, protest, and violence, for Powell brings a vivid sense of movement and drama to the conflicts in the southern streets.
There is much important public history here to be savored and remembered, but I have to admit that my favorite part of this book is Lewis’ accounts of his first efforts to be a preacher by delivering sermons to an unlikely congregation: the family chickens. His obvious affection for these humble creatures and his determination to spread the Good News are both important parts of the man who is John Lewis.
I liked this book a lot, and intend to read Book Two and Three.
August 28, 2017
I just finished March Book 3, and I felt I couldn't quite write a fitting review until I had completed the series. This is my third foray into the world of the graphic novel, and judging by the books I have read (Persepolis by Marjane Satrapi and Maus by Art Spiegelman), it is a genre worthy of much more exploration. March Books 1-3 are different from anything I have ever read about civil rights, racism and the politics of this country. These books made me feel included in the struggle, that I was able to gain an insight I previously could not, which could be my own fault, or the fact that the classes I was taught in school on American history made a big to-do of the Civil War, but little of what came in the hundreds of years since regarding the issues of integration and equality.
Needless to say, I think it would be hugely advantageous to use these books in the classroom. The graphic novel format is such that I think students would find it more fun and accessible to read and thereby learn about real historic events. Further, there is a true relevance (sadly) in these books set 50-60 years in the past, as we see the Black Lives Matter movement and the greater awareness of racial problems in this country. When I read the end of March 3, there is a scene where Rosa Parks speaks about the need to end discrimination and police violence that gave me goosebumps, because it is shockingly STILL going on. The perpetuation of prejudice and distrust in this current election year cannot be doing this situation any favors. We all have to know this is wrong, and an awareness that it is real is the first step to trying to be a part of change.
I don't want to be too political, but books like March raise issues that are, and should be, impossible to ignore.
I wanted to add a little amendment to this review in light of recent events. It has been a difficult week, and I don't know how soon that feeling of shock will pass. As always, I've found some small comfort in the escape of good books and I had to think again about John Lewis' remarkable trilogy. Now is the best time to read books like these. I am not calling for a march or protest, despite what the title of these books might suggest. But I think there is comfort and strength to be found in reading these true stories of incredible resilience of the human spirit and the power of non-violence in the fight for tolerance and acceptance.
Find more reviews and bookish fun at http://www.princessandpen.com
Needless to say, I think it would be hugely advantageous to use these books in the classroom. The graphic novel format is such that I think students would find it more fun and accessible to read and thereby learn about real historic events. Further, there is a true relevance (sadly) in these books set 50-60 years in the past, as we see the Black Lives Matter movement and the greater awareness of racial problems in this country. When I read the end of March 3, there is a scene where Rosa Parks speaks about the need to end discrimination and police violence that gave me goosebumps, because it is shockingly STILL going on. The perpetuation of prejudice and distrust in this current election year cannot be doing this situation any favors. We all have to know this is wrong, and an awareness that it is real is the first step to trying to be a part of change.
I don't want to be too political, but books like March raise issues that are, and should be, impossible to ignore.
I wanted to add a little amendment to this review in light of recent events. It has been a difficult week, and I don't know how soon that feeling of shock will pass. As always, I've found some small comfort in the escape of good books and I had to think again about John Lewis' remarkable trilogy. Now is the best time to read books like these. I am not calling for a march or protest, despite what the title of these books might suggest. But I think there is comfort and strength to be found in reading these true stories of incredible resilience of the human spirit and the power of non-violence in the fight for tolerance and acceptance.
Find more reviews and bookish fun at http://www.princessandpen.com
February 20, 2018
"My dear children, read. Read everything."
I've seen this graphic novel around on Goodreads a few times and was super intrigued by it. It didn't let me down. On the contrary, it moved me to tears and gave me goosebumps. The novel tells the story of John Lewis, his life and his fight in the civil rights movement around the 1950's and 60's. Seeing how the world is going up in flames, it's significant to recall that resistance, that fighting for your rights, that demanding truth and fairness through protests, marches and communication do have the power to improve the world we live in. But most of all it reminds us to fight peacefully. That respect is a most important virtue. And to treat our fellow human beings with love.
Find more of my books on Instagram
I've seen this graphic novel around on Goodreads a few times and was super intrigued by it. It didn't let me down. On the contrary, it moved me to tears and gave me goosebumps. The novel tells the story of John Lewis, his life and his fight in the civil rights movement around the 1950's and 60's. Seeing how the world is going up in flames, it's significant to recall that resistance, that fighting for your rights, that demanding truth and fairness through protests, marches and communication do have the power to improve the world we live in. But most of all it reminds us to fight peacefully. That respect is a most important virtue. And to treat our fellow human beings with love.
Find more of my books on Instagram
February 10, 2021
RIP, John Lewis. If you don't know him well or at all, this wonderful and much acclaimed series was in part adapted from Lewis's autobiography. Not only for young people, though this was designed for young adults and provides a powerful introduction to the civil rights era through Lewis's eyes.
10/17/13: An educational and inspirational story of the Civil Rights movement in the sixties from the perspective of one who was there and active in it, Senator John Lewis, who met and worked with and marched on Washington, D. C. in 1963 with Martin Luther King and so many others. Amazingly, more than fifty years later, Sen. Lewis just recently led a sit-down strike on the Senate floor demanding action on gun violence post-Orlando.
In the first of three volumes, we get background on Senator Lewis, a condensed story, but it's useful in getting a quick understanding how prepared these students were in non-violent activism. The focus in the first volume is sharply on the desegregation of lunchroom counters in the south, which Lewis participated in. Readers young and old might be curious, in this age of ultra-violence, how it is one might accomplish one's aims through non-violent resistance. And who's Gandhi?! But we see in a brief series of anecdotes how it worked then and could/does work now. Violence only begets violence, Lewis makes clear.
The art by Nate Powell, the Eisner-award-winning author of the superb Swallow Me Whole, is really great, sort of sketchy and accessible and unpretentious. Because it's sketchy it feels like in the moment, as in journalism, drawn in the moment. If you are interested in the roots of the civil rights movement in the U. S., you might want to move on to the more in-depth work of Taylor Branch, or the PBS documentary series Eyes on the Prize, but this graphic history/memoir is now being used in history classes all over this country as a supplement to the (sometimes more boring), fact-based history books. It makes history come alive for young people, hopefully. Why do I imagine the audience as primarily young people? Because the book begins with Lewis speaking to young people who have come to see him in his office, and because the politics in the book are pretty simple and straightforward, not as complex as one might get in a longer treatment. But this is visually well done and the story is solid.
A reread for a summer class on YA comics/graphic novels, so fun.
10/17/13: An educational and inspirational story of the Civil Rights movement in the sixties from the perspective of one who was there and active in it, Senator John Lewis, who met and worked with and marched on Washington, D. C. in 1963 with Martin Luther King and so many others. Amazingly, more than fifty years later, Sen. Lewis just recently led a sit-down strike on the Senate floor demanding action on gun violence post-Orlando.
In the first of three volumes, we get background on Senator Lewis, a condensed story, but it's useful in getting a quick understanding how prepared these students were in non-violent activism. The focus in the first volume is sharply on the desegregation of lunchroom counters in the south, which Lewis participated in. Readers young and old might be curious, in this age of ultra-violence, how it is one might accomplish one's aims through non-violent resistance. And who's Gandhi?! But we see in a brief series of anecdotes how it worked then and could/does work now. Violence only begets violence, Lewis makes clear.
The art by Nate Powell, the Eisner-award-winning author of the superb Swallow Me Whole, is really great, sort of sketchy and accessible and unpretentious. Because it's sketchy it feels like in the moment, as in journalism, drawn in the moment. If you are interested in the roots of the civil rights movement in the U. S., you might want to move on to the more in-depth work of Taylor Branch, or the PBS documentary series Eyes on the Prize, but this graphic history/memoir is now being used in history classes all over this country as a supplement to the (sometimes more boring), fact-based history books. It makes history come alive for young people, hopefully. Why do I imagine the audience as primarily young people? Because the book begins with Lewis speaking to young people who have come to see him in his office, and because the politics in the book are pretty simple and straightforward, not as complex as one might get in a longer treatment. But this is visually well done and the story is solid.
A reread for a summer class on YA comics/graphic novels, so fun.
December 28, 2016
"My dear children, read. Read everything."
March 18, 2018
I can not review this book better than Langston Hughes, so here he goes:
I, too, sing America.
I am the darker brother.
They send me to eat in the kitchen
When company comes,
But I laugh,
And eat well,
And grow strong.
Tomorrow,
I'll sit at the table
When company comes.
Nobody'll dare
Say to me,
“Eat in the kitchen,”
Then.
Besides,
They'll see how beautiful I am
And be ashamed,--
I, too, am America.
I, too, sing America.
I am the darker brother.
They send me to eat in the kitchen
When company comes,
But I laugh,
And eat well,
And grow strong.
Tomorrow,
I'll sit at the table
When company comes.
Nobody'll dare
Say to me,
“Eat in the kitchen,”
Then.
Besides,
They'll see how beautiful I am
And be ashamed,--
I, too, am America.
May 4, 2023
This was completely amazing. I don't even have the words to express how much I enjoyed this graphic novel. I know quite a bit about the Civil Rights Movement from classes I've taken or from my own personal research; however, I always seem to learn something new every time I read another personal account. I had no idea how important John Lewis was to the non-violent aspects of the civil rights movement. That was definitely interesting to read about.
The art work was also brilliant and I really enjoyed it. I think if you're into history or if you're looking to learn new things about the Civil Rights Movement than this book would definitely be for you.
The art work was also brilliant and I really enjoyed it. I think if you're into history or if you're looking to learn new things about the Civil Rights Movement than this book would definitely be for you.
April 5, 2017
Video full series review (spoiler free)- https://youtu.be/qcfjel-dHy0
Just amazing. A very emotional read for me since this volume was set in my city. I know these places and this history, but seeing and hearing it in Lewis's own words is priceless. The Nashville library is currently doing a big promotion of this trilogy, so I have quite a long wait for volumes 2 and 3 but will be continuing as soon as I can.
Just amazing. A very emotional read for me since this volume was set in my city. I know these places and this history, but seeing and hearing it in Lewis's own words is priceless. The Nashville library is currently doing a big promotion of this trilogy, so I have quite a long wait for volumes 2 and 3 but will be continuing as soon as I can.
September 21, 2020
March, Book One, is the first of three graphic novels chronicling late Congressman and civil rights icon John Lewis’s life story.
I especially liked the story of his childhood on his family’s farm in segregated, rural Alabama. His parents gave him the responsibility of taking care of the chickens and he treated each of these chickens as individuals, talked to them, named them, protected them and even gave them sermons. He dreamt about chicken incubators the way other children dream about bicycles or dollhouses.
However, since he became a civil rights activist, I’m convinced that his biggest takeaway from caring for his chickens was: ‘don’t be a chicken’.
I especially liked the story of his childhood on his family’s farm in segregated, rural Alabama. His parents gave him the responsibility of taking care of the chickens and he treated each of these chickens as individuals, talked to them, named them, protected them and even gave them sermons. He dreamt about chicken incubators the way other children dream about bicycles or dollhouses.
However, since he became a civil rights activist, I’m convinced that his biggest takeaway from caring for his chickens was: ‘don’t be a chicken’.
March 11, 2017
Because truth and history.
August 2, 2018
This has been on my TBR for so long, I still can’t believe I have it in my hands. March: Book One is a vivid first-hand account of John Lewis’ lifelong struggle for civil and human rights, meditating in the modern age on the distance traveled since the days of Jim Crow and segregation. Rooted in Lewis’ personal story, it also reflects on the highs and lows of the broader civil rights movement.
I had such high expectations build up in my head, and I can now say that this book was truly everything I wanted it to be.
• John Lewis' childhood memories transported me like I was standing right there.
• first person account of growing up in the south.
• the illustrations were incredible.
• unquestionably informative.
• tackles a variety of situations such as: bus boycotts, war resistance, nonviolence, and more.
• crucially important timeline.
And as I mentioned before about the illustrations, I would love to share some of my favorite picks:
Overall, March had me completely immersed into the vivid and evocative life of John Lewis. And I'm onto book two as I'm writing this.
*Note: I'm an Amazon Affiliate. If you're interested in buying March: Book One, just click on the image below to go through my link. I'll make a small commission!*
Support creators you love. Buy a Coffee for nat (bookspoils) with Ko-fi.com/bookspoils
I had such high expectations build up in my head, and I can now say that this book was truly everything I wanted it to be.
• John Lewis' childhood memories transported me like I was standing right there.
• first person account of growing up in the south.
• the illustrations were incredible.
• unquestionably informative.
• tackles a variety of situations such as: bus boycotts, war resistance, nonviolence, and more.
• crucially important timeline.
And as I mentioned before about the illustrations, I would love to share some of my favorite picks:
Overall, March had me completely immersed into the vivid and evocative life of John Lewis. And I'm onto book two as I'm writing this.
*Note: I'm an Amazon Affiliate. If you're interested in buying March: Book One, just click on the image below to go through my link. I'll make a small commission!*
Support creators you love. Buy a Coffee for nat (bookspoils) with Ko-fi.com/bookspoils
February 7, 2017
This is a powerful look at Congressman John Lewis' role in the Civil Rights Movement. This first book in the March trilogy focuses on Lewis' childhood in Alabama, his interest in becoming a preacher, how he met Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., and the lunch counter sit-ins in Nashville.
The story is framed by Barack Obama's presidential inauguration in January 2009, with Lewis telling his story to some visitors in his congressional office. This is a wonderful and moving graphic novel, and I'm eager to read the second and third books in the series. Highly recommended to anyone interested in the Civil Rights Movement.
The story is framed by Barack Obama's presidential inauguration in January 2009, with Lewis telling his story to some visitors in his congressional office. This is a wonderful and moving graphic novel, and I'm eager to read the second and third books in the series. Highly recommended to anyone interested in the Civil Rights Movement.
July 18, 2015
An extraordinary memoir in the graphic novel format which gives the reader a keen cognizance on the U.S. Civil Rights Movement. ‘March: Book One’, the first book of a trilogy, is a riveting tale of the civil rights era told from the perspective of U.S. Congressmen John Lewis. Written by Lewis and his colleague, Andrew Aydin, the crisp black and white fluid stroke illustrations of this book is done by Nate Powell.
This autobiographical graphic novel presents the reader with an emotional visual rendering of a true iconic figure who played a leading role in the movement for eradicating the evil of social discrimination and bringing basic civil and human right policies into the American social system. The skill that is put into the presentation of this graphic narrative is truly laudable as the story of 2 different time periods – the story of the John Lewis as present day Congressman in 2009 who is preparing for the first inauguration of Barack Obama and the story of a young John Lewis who comes from a very humble farming background and his subsequent motivational rise into a leader – are cleverly and smoothly interwoven to form a very enjoyable reading experience.
‘March: Book One’ brings back the bright memories of an era – an era, which may feel so distant; an era, which fought for basic civil rights and recognition; an era, which saw powerful civil movements against social segregation based on racial differences – within the frames of the cartoon panel in a dazzling fashion. Even though this is the memoir of Congressmen John Lewis, he brings back an entire generation of heroes who stood up to the inequalities and dangers of a social era with valiant acts of civil disobedience in the form of non-violent protests and marches. ‘March’ can be seen as magic mirror pointed at the reader, in which he can witness the historic moments from this massive struggle for socio-political change. The first volume narrates the story of a young John Lewis growing up in rural Alabama; his life at his parent’s farm; his perspective-changing trip with his uncle to New York witnessing the class segregations; his school days and then collage life; his life-altering interactions with Martin Luther King, Jr.; forming of Nashville Student Movement and getting indoctrinated in the Gandhian forms of civil disobedience and non-violent protests; which ultimately leading to the student movements protests against class segregation through lunch counter sit-ins and getting arrested.
The illustrations even though they are in black and white alone are never dull or hastily put together. They are done in brushstrokes that are fluid and crisp and some of the panoramic scenes that depict the rural Alabama are quiet stunning. The story when told in the graphic format connects more easily with the reader; the scenes of harassment and violence that the protestors encounter during the lunch counter sit-ins can be taken as an example to this. The graphics bring the morose nature of those incidents in a sharper manner to the reader than is possible with volumes of textual descriptions.
This is a story, which gives one true lesson to any society; that to achieve deep-seated social change it takes a lot of perseverance and passion from those who are striving for the change. The narrative & the graphics in March have a certain amount of magnetic power, which will rivet the attention of the reader right on to the epic that unfolds with in its pages.
In my humble opinion, ‘March’ stands right there among other brilliant and historic graphic memoirs like Maus.
This autobiographical graphic novel presents the reader with an emotional visual rendering of a true iconic figure who played a leading role in the movement for eradicating the evil of social discrimination and bringing basic civil and human right policies into the American social system. The skill that is put into the presentation of this graphic narrative is truly laudable as the story of 2 different time periods – the story of the John Lewis as present day Congressman in 2009 who is preparing for the first inauguration of Barack Obama and the story of a young John Lewis who comes from a very humble farming background and his subsequent motivational rise into a leader – are cleverly and smoothly interwoven to form a very enjoyable reading experience.
‘March: Book One’ brings back the bright memories of an era – an era, which may feel so distant; an era, which fought for basic civil rights and recognition; an era, which saw powerful civil movements against social segregation based on racial differences – within the frames of the cartoon panel in a dazzling fashion. Even though this is the memoir of Congressmen John Lewis, he brings back an entire generation of heroes who stood up to the inequalities and dangers of a social era with valiant acts of civil disobedience in the form of non-violent protests and marches. ‘March’ can be seen as magic mirror pointed at the reader, in which he can witness the historic moments from this massive struggle for socio-political change. The first volume narrates the story of a young John Lewis growing up in rural Alabama; his life at his parent’s farm; his perspective-changing trip with his uncle to New York witnessing the class segregations; his school days and then collage life; his life-altering interactions with Martin Luther King, Jr.; forming of Nashville Student Movement and getting indoctrinated in the Gandhian forms of civil disobedience and non-violent protests; which ultimately leading to the student movements protests against class segregation through lunch counter sit-ins and getting arrested.
The illustrations even though they are in black and white alone are never dull or hastily put together. They are done in brushstrokes that are fluid and crisp and some of the panoramic scenes that depict the rural Alabama are quiet stunning. The story when told in the graphic format connects more easily with the reader; the scenes of harassment and violence that the protestors encounter during the lunch counter sit-ins can be taken as an example to this. The graphics bring the morose nature of those incidents in a sharper manner to the reader than is possible with volumes of textual descriptions.
This is a story, which gives one true lesson to any society; that to achieve deep-seated social change it takes a lot of perseverance and passion from those who are striving for the change. The narrative & the graphics in March have a certain amount of magnetic power, which will rivet the attention of the reader right on to the epic that unfolds with in its pages.
In my humble opinion, ‘March’ stands right there among other brilliant and historic graphic memoirs like Maus.
February 7, 2017
MARCH Sweeps American Library Association Awards with Record-Breaking FOUR Wins January 23, 2017
One small quibble (don't you just love the word quibble) on the format: some of the speech in the bubbles was too small to read. As for the content, WOW, how magnificent these passive resisters were to the ugliness of racial prejudice. If you have seen/read Hidden Figures then you will know that this, March bk 1, runs parallel with its referencing to the counter closed scenario.
And I finished this on Holocaust memorial day 2017, where it was deemed okay to persecute muslims. We shall overcome racism
June 24, 2018
Imagine walking into a restaurant and sitting at the bar. They won't serve you. It's not that you're too young, too drunk, or too invisible. You're just black. Then they ask you to leave because you're black. Rather shocking and unimaginable, if I do say so myself.
Somehow I never knew about John Lewis or these lunch counter sit-ins. I can't say I'm surprised this history lesson eluded me throughout my unsatisfactory public education. It's not the most violent series of incidents in the history of segregation. But neither was Rosa Parks refusing to give up her bus seat, and I bet you damn near every American child knows about her, even if they don't understand what it means.
Here's the thing: I don't get it. I'm empathetic, sympathetic, even angry this happened just fifty years ago. But I'm white. So I don't get it and I never will. I don't get how whites ever used to enslave blacks like animals. I don't get how a black slave used to be three fifths of a person. The best I can do is be informed on history and the black struggle, and fight for and support my black brothers and sisters.
"Ma'am, may we be served?"
March is incredible. The writing is direct but subtle, honest but lacking egoism. Nate Powell's black and white illustrations are sketchy, stark and dramatic. Much like the history of slavery and segregation itself, March reveals how terribly evil and wrong whites have been and continue to be about issues like equality, rights, and respect.
I mean, fuck, look at this nation's politics. Fifty years ago whites refused food service to blacks (not to mention countless other cruelties and heinous crimes, or hundreds of years of systematic torture and slavery), and here whites are threatening and demeaning Muslims, Mexicans, blacks, gays, and women. You wanna talk about a lack of self-awareness? An ignorance of our own history? Damn.
Read this book. Don't be like, eh, it's memoir, it's black and white, there's no spandex. Real shit is happening in the world at this very moment and John Lewis gave you a survival guide. Use it.
Somehow I never knew about John Lewis or these lunch counter sit-ins. I can't say I'm surprised this history lesson eluded me throughout my unsatisfactory public education. It's not the most violent series of incidents in the history of segregation. But neither was Rosa Parks refusing to give up her bus seat, and I bet you damn near every American child knows about her, even if they don't understand what it means.
Here's the thing: I don't get it. I'm empathetic, sympathetic, even angry this happened just fifty years ago. But I'm white. So I don't get it and I never will. I don't get how whites ever used to enslave blacks like animals. I don't get how a black slave used to be three fifths of a person. The best I can do is be informed on history and the black struggle, and fight for and support my black brothers and sisters.
"Ma'am, may we be served?"
March is incredible. The writing is direct but subtle, honest but lacking egoism. Nate Powell's black and white illustrations are sketchy, stark and dramatic. Much like the history of slavery and segregation itself, March reveals how terribly evil and wrong whites have been and continue to be about issues like equality, rights, and respect.
I mean, fuck, look at this nation's politics. Fifty years ago whites refused food service to blacks (not to mention countless other cruelties and heinous crimes, or hundreds of years of systematic torture and slavery), and here whites are threatening and demeaning Muslims, Mexicans, blacks, gays, and women. You wanna talk about a lack of self-awareness? An ignorance of our own history? Damn.
Read this book. Don't be like, eh, it's memoir, it's black and white, there's no spandex. Real shit is happening in the world at this very moment and John Lewis gave you a survival guide. Use it.
December 16, 2017
Fantastic GN - so glad to see this medium finally reaching the potential it has as an educational medium. The story of John Lewis is a story embedded in the best of what America has always aspired to be - and that aspiration is needed (now more than ever) if we hope to march forward towards a peaceful future.
May 4, 2014
I had the pleasure of reading this graphic novel which is dedicated to the life and Civil Rights work of Congressman John Lewis. The novel sheds light and understanding on Lewis' entry into the movement as well as some aspects of the Civil Rights movement that are maybe ignored, Obviously, this graphic novel could be used as a teaching tool but it is more than that it recognises a man who was an essential part of the movement. It honours all of those black and white activists that paved the way for integration and for the advancement of African-Americans. It's our history. It's a must read for those who do not know who John Lewis is. The graphic novel recounts in detail starting with Lewis' childhood and continues on to his education, etc. The mis en page was creative and the artwork (crisp and confident) being drawn in black and white sets the tone of non-fiction. The story is emotional in places and gives the reader a good idea of the difficulties and risks of being a Civil Rights activist. However, I had a problem with the typography which at times was written extremely small. This device was apparently used on purpose throughout the story but it unfortunately disturbs the reading and understanding of some parts of the story. All in all it's very good and I can't wait to read part 2. I would have rated this 4,5 stars but you know why I can't.
August 17, 2013
I was stopped in my tracks at the Nerd-vana known as the San Diego Comic Convention when I noticed a man handing out short, yellowed copies of a fifty-plus-year-old comic book emblazoned with the face of Martin Luther King Jr. I had to stop. I struck up a conversation with Nate Powell, the graphic artist behind March, Book One, a graphic memoir of Congressman John Lewis. Lewis was a founding member of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee and speaker six at the March on Washington, celebrating its fiftieth anniversary this year (King was speaker ten). This black-and-white graphic novel tells the story of his early life, culminating in the desegregation of lunch counters in downtown Nashville. Two future volumes will round out Lewis's story with the march on Washington and other seminal events in the history of civil rights in America.
I hadn't known that a comic book had featured prominently (and been used strategically) in the mobilization of youth for the civil rights movement. That comic, Martin Luther King and the Montgomery Story, shows up midway through March and introduces the concepts of passive resistance and nonviolent action. Being a comic book geek of sorts, and a student of the movement after a fashion, I found this quite heartening; it makes much more sense of the decision to retell Rep. Lewis's story in a graphic novel, which struck me as odd at first blush.
You forget, every once in a while as you read March, that you're sitting in on the story of a legend. That's partly because of the congressman's approachability even in print, and the structure of the storytelling, which floats between Lewis's interior memories and his telling stories to student visitors to his congressional office. But it's also partly because of the lead-up to other legends whose stories intersect Lewis's.
We meet Rosa Parks and Thurgood Marshall--from a distance, since they weren't known personally by the congressman--and we see their faces: Parks as she defies the order to give up her seat, Marshall (in a moment of disillusionment) as he appeals to protestors to give up their protest. The most disarming moments come when we meet Jim Lawson (always in shadow, but orchestrating the congressman's epiphany about nonviolence) and Martin Luther King Jr.
King's sequence is particularly effective: we follow Lewis (with few words, mostly pictures) from his parents' home in Pike County, Alabama, to the bus station, to the home of civil rights attorney Fred Gray, to the doors of Dexter Avenue Baptist Church in Montgomery, Alabama, and down a hall and down a flight of stairs and down another hall and around a corner into the office of one of the great moral leaders of all time. There he is, Dr. King, rising from his desk to greet "the boy from Troy," to incite him toward a vocation of justice even as he warned him to count the cost of engagement.
Ultimately Rep. Lewis is unable to follow through on this initial exchange with Dr. King; because (at this point) he is still a minor, he needs the approval of his parents, and they are unwilling to take the risks along with him. But the epiphany of recruitment is effectively conveyed in the art and the sparse dialogue, and it is no surprise to the reader how quickly the story moves from that encounter to the scenes with Lawson and ultimately to the successful confrontation of segregation in downtown Nashville.
March is designed as a trilogy; the remaining two volumes will be released over the next couple of years. I'm eager to read them.
I hadn't known that a comic book had featured prominently (and been used strategically) in the mobilization of youth for the civil rights movement. That comic, Martin Luther King and the Montgomery Story, shows up midway through March and introduces the concepts of passive resistance and nonviolent action. Being a comic book geek of sorts, and a student of the movement after a fashion, I found this quite heartening; it makes much more sense of the decision to retell Rep. Lewis's story in a graphic novel, which struck me as odd at first blush.
You forget, every once in a while as you read March, that you're sitting in on the story of a legend. That's partly because of the congressman's approachability even in print, and the structure of the storytelling, which floats between Lewis's interior memories and his telling stories to student visitors to his congressional office. But it's also partly because of the lead-up to other legends whose stories intersect Lewis's.
We meet Rosa Parks and Thurgood Marshall--from a distance, since they weren't known personally by the congressman--and we see their faces: Parks as she defies the order to give up her seat, Marshall (in a moment of disillusionment) as he appeals to protestors to give up their protest. The most disarming moments come when we meet Jim Lawson (always in shadow, but orchestrating the congressman's epiphany about nonviolence) and Martin Luther King Jr.
King's sequence is particularly effective: we follow Lewis (with few words, mostly pictures) from his parents' home in Pike County, Alabama, to the bus station, to the home of civil rights attorney Fred Gray, to the doors of Dexter Avenue Baptist Church in Montgomery, Alabama, and down a hall and down a flight of stairs and down another hall and around a corner into the office of one of the great moral leaders of all time. There he is, Dr. King, rising from his desk to greet "the boy from Troy," to incite him toward a vocation of justice even as he warned him to count the cost of engagement.
Ultimately Rep. Lewis is unable to follow through on this initial exchange with Dr. King; because (at this point) he is still a minor, he needs the approval of his parents, and they are unwilling to take the risks along with him. But the epiphany of recruitment is effectively conveyed in the art and the sparse dialogue, and it is no surprise to the reader how quickly the story moves from that encounter to the scenes with Lawson and ultimately to the successful confrontation of segregation in downtown Nashville.
March is designed as a trilogy; the remaining two volumes will be released over the next couple of years. I'm eager to read them.
June 22, 2018
The more I discover about this time in civil rights, the more I am blow away by the bravery it took to stand up to such an oppressive system. People gave their lives for this. I am so grateful these people sacrificed and changed things. It also makes me thing we can't go back to how it was. It was terrible. It's time to move forward and leave this behavior to the past.
This is John Lewis's story. I really didn't know much about him. He was brave. They say he was one of the top 6 leaders of the civil rights movement. Can you imagine if someone threw a stick of dynamite at your house - well it happened in Nashville. Terrifying stuff. John Lewis is telling his story before the inauguration of Barack Obama.
The story is very well done and the graphic novel does a well at telling the stories. I know many of the brutal things are left out, but it does give you and idea of what was happening. John Lewis is a writer for the story too.
I will continue on with his as it is so good.
This is John Lewis's story. I really didn't know much about him. He was brave. They say he was one of the top 6 leaders of the civil rights movement. Can you imagine if someone threw a stick of dynamite at your house - well it happened in Nashville. Terrifying stuff. John Lewis is telling his story before the inauguration of Barack Obama.
The story is very well done and the graphic novel does a well at telling the stories. I know many of the brutal things are left out, but it does give you and idea of what was happening. John Lewis is a writer for the story too.
I will continue on with his as it is so good.
July 24, 2020
This is an excellent comic biography of the late John Lewis, highlighting the civil rights work of his youth. The artwork by Nate Powell is stunning, beautiful black and white storytelling that expresses the tone of the hard times during the 1950s and 60s.
The narrative is structured with Congressman John Lewis on the morning of Obama's inauguration in 2009. It works well as people stop by his office and he recounts stories of his youth in segregated rural Alabama as a farmer. He is a very human character, even showing compassion to the chickens in his childhood. He grows older and fights with his parents over the right to have an education, and rises in the ranks of his local church before going to college in Tennessee.
There, he becomes an activist which forms the backbone of his story. It is fascinating to see how the student unions of the time organized sit-ins and boycotts, dealt with arrests and a bigoted legal system, and with some special appearances from MLK pressured the local government into fighting for integration. Finally, the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC) is formed.
The famous protest march to Selma across that bridge is only foreshadowed, to be continued for future volumes of this graphic novel series. After finishing book one, I have no doubt all readers will be interested in reading the complete series. March as whole should certainly be required reading for civil rights history, and I hope many young students will both learn important stories of America as well as even become fans of the comics medium.
The only flaw, unfortunately, is the way the inauguration of Obama in 09 is somewhat portrayed as how the good guys "win" in the end. We now know that was simply not the case at all, and there is so much more work to be done to fight racism. Much, much more. One can understand how it was a useful way to construct the biography, and I don't fault it for utilizing such a structure.
But reading this in 2020, right after John Lewis has passed, it is just plain heartbreaking to know that the world can truly regress that hard...
Overall, however, this tome is meant for inspiration. And at that it definitely succeeds; so be inspired, and fight on!
The narrative is structured with Congressman John Lewis on the morning of Obama's inauguration in 2009. It works well as people stop by his office and he recounts stories of his youth in segregated rural Alabama as a farmer. He is a very human character, even showing compassion to the chickens in his childhood. He grows older and fights with his parents over the right to have an education, and rises in the ranks of his local church before going to college in Tennessee.
There, he becomes an activist which forms the backbone of his story. It is fascinating to see how the student unions of the time organized sit-ins and boycotts, dealt with arrests and a bigoted legal system, and with some special appearances from MLK pressured the local government into fighting for integration. Finally, the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC) is formed.
The famous protest march to Selma across that bridge is only foreshadowed, to be continued for future volumes of this graphic novel series. After finishing book one, I have no doubt all readers will be interested in reading the complete series. March as whole should certainly be required reading for civil rights history, and I hope many young students will both learn important stories of America as well as even become fans of the comics medium.
The only flaw, unfortunately, is the way the inauguration of Obama in 09 is somewhat portrayed as how the good guys "win" in the end. We now know that was simply not the case at all, and there is so much more work to be done to fight racism. Much, much more. One can understand how it was a useful way to construct the biography, and I don't fault it for utilizing such a structure.
But reading this in 2020, right after John Lewis has passed, it is just plain heartbreaking to know that the world can truly regress that hard...
Overall, however, this tome is meant for inspiration. And at that it definitely succeeds; so be inspired, and fight on!
August 17, 2018
I need to thank fellow Read Harder comrade Claire for putting me onto this particular graphic novel series. One of the reasons I sign on for the Read Harder challenge each year is to be prodded into books I might naturally avoid. Normally, comics are top of that list, I just inherently prefer novels.
March is like an illustrated biography of U.S congressman John Lewis and an unfolding history of the Black Civil Rights Movement rolled into one. Obviously, this is more like a short film experience of these key events rather than the in-depth analysis you would expect to get from a traditional biography or history but I am always surprised by how much detail can be conveyed in a well executed graphic novel.
March is a gem. I devoured it in two sittings. My only very minor quibble was some of the text was too tiny to read and the story seemed to end quite suddenly.
However, I am keen to get to the next two volumes in the series.
March is like an illustrated biography of U.S congressman John Lewis and an unfolding history of the Black Civil Rights Movement rolled into one. Obviously, this is more like a short film experience of these key events rather than the in-depth analysis you would expect to get from a traditional biography or history but I am always surprised by how much detail can be conveyed in a well executed graphic novel.
March is a gem. I devoured it in two sittings. My only very minor quibble was some of the text was too tiny to read and the story seemed to end quite suddenly.
However, I am keen to get to the next two volumes in the series.
December 7, 2016
The third book in the graphic novel series
March
won the National Book Award for Young People's Literature in 2016, prompting me to have a look at the series. Book 1 depicts John Lewis’ childhood in rural Alabama, where he grew up on a farm. His personality was revealed early, and his relatives took to calling him “preacher.” He cared more about words and concepts than the back-breaking reality of labor in the fields. He liked to wear a tie and read books any day and escaped to school even when he was needed in the fields at home. The "boy preacher" gave his his first sermon five days before his sixteenth birthday, inspired by Rosa Parks' protest in Montgomery, Alabama, fifty miles away.
First frames for this series open in Washington, D.C. in January 2009 and Lewis’ history is told in flashbacks. Black and white drawings of Representative Lewis’ office in Cannon House Office Building are interspersed with visions of his childhood. It is more than fifty years between the two periods and yet they are connected in some way we know will be made clear. Our perception of those fifty years changes like a hologram as we read, sometimes thinking fifty years sounds like a long time, and then realizing it’s only fifty years, and yet how radically different living conditions were then, outside of cities. Blacks were still being blatantly discriminated against in every way, and the first civil rights legislation was just being proposed, passed, and enacted.
This book follows Lewis from his early schooldays, through high school and his first discovery of the “social gospel” being taught by Martin Luther King, Jr. Lewis knew after hearing King one day on the radio that the gospel King was spreading was something he believed in whole-heartedly. And he gravitated to places where that message was being taught, ending up in Nashville, Tennessee with a group of like-minded activists. The first book ends with a series of sit-ins in Nashville cafes and restaurants, forcing them eventually to serve black customers along with whites.
The authors simplify the twists and turns in Lewis’ life, but hover carefully over turning points, and moments of decision. This biography is aimed at young adults, not children. But even young adults may need someone to explain how and why there was so much opposition to integration, unless they have already seen and felt those sentiments in their lives. I expect black youth will know exactly what Lewis is telling them, and white youth will be aghast, even disbelieving, unless they, too, live in the south. But these books are absolutely necessary at this time, to refresh our collective memories. It is not so long ago that all of us can’t get first hand corroboration of Lewis’ history, and remind ourselves those attitudes were not appropriate then, and they aren’t appropriate now.
The encapsulation of a real life in a series of picture frames and dialog boxes is a difficult thing to pull off, but Andrew Aydin and Nate Powell do it beautifully, never talking down to the reader, nor reaching so high that the concepts can’t be grasped immediately, viscerally even. This is life and death stuff, and they leave a little of the horror in for us to contemplate, but the steady focus and preparation necessary to challenge political power comes across as well. As does the bravery of those who dared to resist.
Highly recommended for a basic understanding of what the fight for civil rights looked like from an individual's perspective in the south of the United States in the 1950s and early 1960s. Conditions experienced by blacks, attitudes of whites, the time period, the first resistance groups, and key figures are introduced. More material and discussion will be needed to answer the questions students and readers will surely have when confronted with this information for the first time.
First frames for this series open in Washington, D.C. in January 2009 and Lewis’ history is told in flashbacks. Black and white drawings of Representative Lewis’ office in Cannon House Office Building are interspersed with visions of his childhood. It is more than fifty years between the two periods and yet they are connected in some way we know will be made clear. Our perception of those fifty years changes like a hologram as we read, sometimes thinking fifty years sounds like a long time, and then realizing it’s only fifty years, and yet how radically different living conditions were then, outside of cities. Blacks were still being blatantly discriminated against in every way, and the first civil rights legislation was just being proposed, passed, and enacted.
This book follows Lewis from his early schooldays, through high school and his first discovery of the “social gospel” being taught by Martin Luther King, Jr. Lewis knew after hearing King one day on the radio that the gospel King was spreading was something he believed in whole-heartedly. And he gravitated to places where that message was being taught, ending up in Nashville, Tennessee with a group of like-minded activists. The first book ends with a series of sit-ins in Nashville cafes and restaurants, forcing them eventually to serve black customers along with whites.
The authors simplify the twists and turns in Lewis’ life, but hover carefully over turning points, and moments of decision. This biography is aimed at young adults, not children. But even young adults may need someone to explain how and why there was so much opposition to integration, unless they have already seen and felt those sentiments in their lives. I expect black youth will know exactly what Lewis is telling them, and white youth will be aghast, even disbelieving, unless they, too, live in the south. But these books are absolutely necessary at this time, to refresh our collective memories. It is not so long ago that all of us can’t get first hand corroboration of Lewis’ history, and remind ourselves those attitudes were not appropriate then, and they aren’t appropriate now.
The encapsulation of a real life in a series of picture frames and dialog boxes is a difficult thing to pull off, but Andrew Aydin and Nate Powell do it beautifully, never talking down to the reader, nor reaching so high that the concepts can’t be grasped immediately, viscerally even. This is life and death stuff, and they leave a little of the horror in for us to contemplate, but the steady focus and preparation necessary to challenge political power comes across as well. As does the bravery of those who dared to resist.
Highly recommended for a basic understanding of what the fight for civil rights looked like from an individual's perspective in the south of the United States in the 1950s and early 1960s. Conditions experienced by blacks, attitudes of whites, the time period, the first resistance groups, and key figures are introduced. More material and discussion will be needed to answer the questions students and readers will surely have when confronted with this information for the first time.
November 13, 2017
Well done!! More thoughts to follow...
5 Stars
I read the dead tree edition.
5 Stars
I read the dead tree edition.
December 21, 2017
An excellent and informative graphic novel! I'll be continuing with the next.
October 4, 2022
The March Trilogy is a comic book series, which narrates the life of the American icon and legend of the Civil Rights Movement John Lewis. It was written in a corporate effort by Lewis himself and comic book writer Andrew Aydin. The art was done by Nate Prowell. Everyone involved in this project did a wonderful job. The writing and story in general had me in tears multiple times. Everything felt so fucking real, intense and urgent. Fucking incredible. The black-and-white art style enhanced the narrative and was beautiful to look at.
Things I've learned from March: Book 1:
1 At times when Lewis' family couldn't afford for him to go to school (because they needed his help on the farm), young John would silently slip away and go to school nonetheless because at a young age he knew that proper education is necessary.
2 In 1955 John Lewis listened to a sermon that was broadcasted on the radio. It was the first time that John heard the name of Martin Luther King. He felt like King was preaching directly to him and he was inspired to do something likewise.
3 Emmett Till, a 14-year-old African American, was brutally murdered by two white men, just because he said 'bye baby' to a white woman whilst leaving a store. Even though the two white men confessed the crime in an interview, they were never persecuted at Court. An all-whites jury discharged them.
4 The Montgomery Bus Boycott began on December 20, 1955 (two weeks after Rosa Parks <3 was arrested because she refused to give up her seat to a white lady in a bus); and the Browder v. Gayle ruling took effect which declared segregated buses as unconstitutional in Alabama and Montgomery. With the support of most of Montgomery's 50,000 African Americans, the boycott lasted for 381 days, until the local ordinance segregating African Americans and whites on public buses was repealed. The city was overflowed with cars and people walking on the streets, bus revenues had been reduced significantly. Black taxi drivers only charged 10c per ride (same as a bus ticket would've cost) to support their brothers and sisters.
5 Lewis wanted to single-handedly desegregate Troy State, by applying to this school were no Black students were allowed and raising awareness to the situation. He wrote to Dr. King asking for help and was granted a meeting and the reassurance that King and his lawyers would help him. In the end Lewis backed down, because they made it clear to him that this would affect his family and his neighbourhood as well, and because his parents didn't want anything to do with it.
6 John Lewis, amid others was the force behind Nonviolence Training – they formed the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committe (SNCC). They trained Black people and their allies to remain calm and non-aggressive in situations where they would get beat up by white supremacists and the police. The participants were trained to endure being bombarded with severe racial slurs, physical violence and humiliation. The aim was to deep in your heart find love for your attacker. A lot of people dropped out because they couldn't take it.
7 SNCC organized a lot of non-violent sit-ins as their form of protest. Every Black (and white) student who wanted to participate in these had to follow these rules:
Things they weren't allow to do:
9 Another target of their sit-ins was Nashville, where segregated restaurants/stores were still reinforced. Within the local churches, a Black community boycott of all downtown stores began. And then finally on May 10, 1960 the six downtown Nashville stores served food to Black customers for the first time in the city's history.
10 Within the Black community there was a generational struggle. A lot of the elders were scared of change, and thought it was safer to stay out of trouble (aka stay away from white people and their privilege). The Youth Movement of the day however wouldn't be stopped, they were ready to claim their basic human rights, no matter what their parents and grandparents said. <3
We shall all be free, We shall all be free, We shall all be free, some day. Oh, deep in my heart, We are not afraid, We are not afraid, We are not afraid, TODAY. Oh, deep in my heart, We shall overcome, We shall overcome, We shall overcome, some day.Personally, I fucking adored everything about this. This series is a wonderful introduction to the Civil Rights Movement and the so-called Black struggle of the 1950s and 60s. It is very easy to understand and hits close to home, because all the characters are portrayed in such a unique and loving way that everything feels so real and raw, that you simply have to sympathize with all of these wonderfully brave people. John Lewis has seriously become my bae and I binge-watched a lot of his interviews and speeches (from today and from back in the day), and this man has all my respect. He is the last of the Big Six who is still alive today, and it is such an honour that he shares his personal experiences and this first-hand account of everything from the Montgomery Bus Boycott, the method of Nonviolence and Nonviolence Training, to the Freedom Rides, to the March on Washington, through to the Voting Rights Act of 1965. It is a truly educational read and one of the most important books I've ever read.
Things I've learned from March: Book 1:
1 At times when Lewis' family couldn't afford for him to go to school (because they needed his help on the farm), young John would silently slip away and go to school nonetheless because at a young age he knew that proper education is necessary.
2 In 1955 John Lewis listened to a sermon that was broadcasted on the radio. It was the first time that John heard the name of Martin Luther King. He felt like King was preaching directly to him and he was inspired to do something likewise.
3 Emmett Till, a 14-year-old African American, was brutally murdered by two white men, just because he said 'bye baby' to a white woman whilst leaving a store. Even though the two white men confessed the crime in an interview, they were never persecuted at Court. An all-whites jury discharged them.
4 The Montgomery Bus Boycott began on December 20, 1955 (two weeks after Rosa Parks <3 was arrested because she refused to give up her seat to a white lady in a bus); and the Browder v. Gayle ruling took effect which declared segregated buses as unconstitutional in Alabama and Montgomery. With the support of most of Montgomery's 50,000 African Americans, the boycott lasted for 381 days, until the local ordinance segregating African Americans and whites on public buses was repealed. The city was overflowed with cars and people walking on the streets, bus revenues had been reduced significantly. Black taxi drivers only charged 10c per ride (same as a bus ticket would've cost) to support their brothers and sisters.
5 Lewis wanted to single-handedly desegregate Troy State, by applying to this school were no Black students were allowed and raising awareness to the situation. He wrote to Dr. King asking for help and was granted a meeting and the reassurance that King and his lawyers would help him. In the end Lewis backed down, because they made it clear to him that this would affect his family and his neighbourhood as well, and because his parents didn't want anything to do with it.
6 John Lewis, amid others was the force behind Nonviolence Training – they formed the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committe (SNCC). They trained Black people and their allies to remain calm and non-aggressive in situations where they would get beat up by white supremacists and the police. The participants were trained to endure being bombarded with severe racial slurs, physical violence and humiliation. The aim was to deep in your heart find love for your attacker. A lot of people dropped out because they couldn't take it.
7 SNCC organized a lot of non-violent sit-ins as their form of protest. Every Black (and white) student who wanted to participate in these had to follow these rules:
Things they weren't allow to do:
1. Strike back or curse if abusedThings they should do:
2. Laugh out
3. Hold conversation with floor walker.
4. Leave your seat until your leader has given you permission to do so.
5. Block entrances to stores outside or the aisles inside.
1. Show yourself friendly and curteous at all times.8 The protesters, no matter how well they behaved, were ALWAYS arrested and put into jail. However they never accepted to pay their way out, no matter how low the bail, because they didn't wanna financially support a system that oppressed them, so they spend many a day in prison. And so also John Lewis had to spend his 21st birthday in prison. <3
2. Sit straight; always face the counter.
3. Report all serious incidents to your leader.
4. Refer information to seekers to your leader in a polite manner.
5. Remember the teachings of Jesus Christ, Mahatma Gandhi and Martin Luther King. Love and nonviolence is the way.
9 Another target of their sit-ins was Nashville, where segregated restaurants/stores were still reinforced. Within the local churches, a Black community boycott of all downtown stores began. And then finally on May 10, 1960 the six downtown Nashville stores served food to Black customers for the first time in the city's history.
10 Within the Black community there was a generational struggle. A lot of the elders were scared of change, and thought it was safer to stay out of trouble (aka stay away from white people and their privilege). The Youth Movement of the day however wouldn't be stopped, they were ready to claim their basic human rights, no matter what their parents and grandparents said. <3
March 8, 2017
From the publisher summary:
"March is a vivid first-hand account of John Lewis’ lifelong struggle for civil and human rights, meditating in the modern age on the distance traveled since the days of Jim Crow and segregation. Rooted in Lewis’ personal story, it also reflects on the highs and lows of the broader civil rights movement.A bunch of readers all decided to read this together, a March in March. Great idea, I'll keep reading the other two volumes. This is a very important story, and I appreciate it being told slowly, in multiple volumes. A parallel story was happening in the town where I live, and parallel stories were happening all over the south. We need to hear all of these stories, so here is a story about the public library in my town, and the nonviolent protest that helped take it towards desegregation.
Book One spans John Lewis’ youth in rural Alabama, his life-changing meeting with Martin Luther King, Jr., the birth of the Nashville Student Movement, and their battle to tear down segregation through nonviolent lunch counter sit-ins, building to a stunning climax on the steps of City Hall."
August 28, 2019
The first of a trilogy about John Lewis’s life, this graphic novel’s defining events are the 1960 lunch-counter sit-ins and the march to Nashville’s City Hall after the bombing of the home of the attorney representing the jailed young people. It’s still hard for me to fathom that just over a year before I was born human beings treated other human beings in such despicable ways, got away with it, and were even silently encouraged; so of course I find it even harder to fathom that similar things go on around the world, all the time, to this day. Though I know the violence toward the non-violent will intensify, I look forward to book two.
February 7, 2017
"No lie can live forever. Let us not despair."
February 16, 2019
290517: this is what graphic history is for: read it. remember. care. hope... read the trilogy review here: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
November 27, 2018
Powerfully written with truly incredible art, I can't recommend this enough.
This tells the story of Congressman John Lewis's early life in Alabama and his early involvement in activism and the Civil Rights Movement.
The structure is phenomenal. The book opens with two young black boys visiting Lewis in his office in DC on the day of Obama's inauguration. I mean, what a set-up. Lewis then proceeds to tell the boys the story of his life and his life's work. The structure serves to emphasize just how recent the history of Jim Crow is. Reading this in 2018 emphasizes how far we have to go when it comes to the fight against racism and guaranteeing equal protection under the law.
The art is just... I don't even know what to say. A few panels were so well done that I had to put the book down and sit back. They are arresting and powerful and painful. I can't praise Nate Powell enough.
This is a series I NEED to continue--I can't wait to pick up books two and three!
This tells the story of Congressman John Lewis's early life in Alabama and his early involvement in activism and the Civil Rights Movement.
The structure is phenomenal. The book opens with two young black boys visiting Lewis in his office in DC on the day of Obama's inauguration. I mean, what a set-up. Lewis then proceeds to tell the boys the story of his life and his life's work. The structure serves to emphasize just how recent the history of Jim Crow is. Reading this in 2018 emphasizes how far we have to go when it comes to the fight against racism and guaranteeing equal protection under the law.
The art is just... I don't even know what to say. A few panels were so well done that I had to put the book down and sit back. They are arresting and powerful and painful. I can't praise Nate Powell enough.
This is a series I NEED to continue--I can't wait to pick up books two and three!
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