I have loved Representative Lewis since studying about the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC) and their role in the sit-ins, freedom rides, and the 1963 March on Washington. While the March on Washington is most often remembered today as the location of Martin Luther King Jr’s I Have a Dream speech, earlier that day in his role as National Chairman of SNCC John Lewis spoke, giving an inflammatory speech that nearly had other speakers pulling out of the March. When I heard last year that […]
Make Good Trouble
The March Trilogy, winner of the 2016 National Book Award for Young People’s Literature, is a first-hand account of the civil rights movement in the United States as told by one of its leaders, Congressman John Lewis of Georgia. These graphic novels span the years 1960-65 and are presented as John Lewis’ recollections on January 20, 2009 — the day of President Obama’s first inauguration. This is an amazing memoir that is not only accessible to young readers, but would most likely be an eye-opener […]
Learn from the past
Best for: Anyone who thinks we don’t still need the voting rights act. In a nutshell: This is the final – and longest – of three graphic novels about the life of John Lewis. It covers the mid-60s, culminating in the march from Selma to Montgomery and the passing of the voting rights act. Line that sticks with me: “In Mississippi that summer we suffered more than 1000 arrests, 80 beatings, 35 shootings, 35 church burnings, and 30 bombings.” Why I chose it: Because the […]
February 27, 1960 was my first arrest.
I bought John Lewis and Andrew Aydin’s March: Book 1 last year in a frenzy of buying graphic novels on sale. I started reading it before Trump decided to go after John Lewis on Twitter. I was born just a few months after Martin Luther King, Jr. was assassinated. I grew up in a predominantly white, liberal bubble in Austin, Texas. My mother was more politically minded, but my parents were both aware of, and opposed to racism. In school, my teachers were mostly white […]
Meeting Violence with Non-Violence
Best for: Anyone who doesn’t know about John Lewis. Also, anyone who does. Also, judging from the latest Pajiba post, Rob Schneider. Ooof. In a nutshell: This is the second of three graphic novels about the life of John Lewis. It covers the early 60s, focusing on the Freedom Rides and the March on Washington. Line that sticks with me: “We found out later that [Birmingham Police Chief ‘Bull’ Connor] had promised the Ku Klux Klan fifteen minutes with the bus before he’d make any […]
Living Legend
Best for: Anyone who doesn’t know about John Lewis. Also, anyone who does. Also, the PEOTUS, because damn. In a nutshell: This is the first of three graphic novels about the life of John Lewis. It covers his childhood through early college, including his participation in lunch counter sit-ins. Line that sticks with me: “The police, conspicuously absent while we were beaten, arrived quickly after the mob wore themselves out.” Why I chose it: My husband purchased the three books last year and just finished […]