Usually acting congressmen do not write graphic novels, but now, we have one to add to the previously nonexistent list.
Congressman John Lewis, representing Georgia’s Fifth Congressional District, is not only one of the most brave and famous leaders from the Civil Rights Movement, he’s also decided to share his story with people everywhere in the form of March: Book One, created with Andrew Aydin and Nate Powell.
Published by Top Shelf Productions, March is the first in a trilogy of books that tells of Congressman Lewis’s experiences with the Civil Rights Movement, from non-violent workshops to sit-ins in Nashville, Tennessee. But it also gives the reader a look into the world of Lewis’s childhood, back when he would preach to the chicken coop at night.
Throughout the book, Lewis gives a remarkable and up-close look at what the country was like during this time, and the challenges African-Americans faced.
He describes a trip with his Uncle Otis. On the trip, they had to take their own food because there wouldn’t be anywhere they could eat until they were out of the South. Neither of them could even rest easy until they reached Ohio, thinking of the dangers they might face.
One of the most eye-opening moments in the novel is when they finally arrive in Buffalo, New York, which Lewis describes as “an otherworldly experience.” There, he rode an escalator for the first time, and was shocked to see that his relatives lived next to white people.
“On both sides.”
Lewis also shows facets of the Civil Rights Movement that aren’t always talked about. It definitely wasn’t just a bunch of brave, inspired people that all of a sudden stood up and tried to change things for the better—it took training, practice. The act of protest was clearly a process.
He took part in workshops on non-violence to prepare him and others for the protests ahead, after becoming a part of the Nashville Student Movement while attending school there. Before sit-ins, the protesters would test the policies of the department stores downtown.
Attendees spat the n-word at each other, tossed water in faces, and, in his words, “tried to dehumanize each other.” In this way, they could be prepared for what might happen when they actually took a stand, and could practice being non-violent.
Andrew Aydin, an employee of Lewis, helped with the book. In fact, he was the one who encouraged Lewis to write a graphic novel in the first place. After Lewis took to the idea, Aydin became a co-writer.
The book is illustrated by Nate Powell, a great artist with some graphic novels of his own. His pictures are in black and white, adding even more drama and weight to Lewis’s story than is already there.
Several times I couldn’t help but be surprised at the whole new dimension they added to the book, and they really combined with the writing to create something amazing; not exaggerated or dramatized to the point of ridiculousness. The balance between the text and the pictures works very well.
Not only are the drawings impressive, but the writing is great, also. Lewis’s voice is honest and definitely his own, and it’s almost as if he’s talking to you in conversation, naturally.
As he speaks of his childhood, his experiences in Nashville, and how he got his start in activism, the reader really gets a unique look at the movement and what it was truly like. Some might think the idea of a graphic novel about such a serious subject is silly, but here, it works beautifully. March is a great, great book.
Warning: Contains foul language, and accurate portrayals of racism in this country, including the n-word and violence.
