"March: Book One" by John Lewis, Andrew Aydin, and Nate Powell

One of the key people of the Civil Rights movement and now an American Congressman, John Lewis has spent his life fighting for civil rights in America.  Born on a sharecropper’s farm in Alabama, educated in a segregated classroom, Lewis was on the frontline of the biggest events of the 1960’s.  Now he is sharing his story in stunning graphic novel form.

March: Book One is the first in a series of three graphic novels telling the life story of Congressman John Lewis.  Written in collaboration with co-writer Andrew Aydin and award-winning artist Nate Powell, the book is an incredible way of bringing history to the new generations.

This book focuses on Lewis’ early life - his birth, childhood, and education.  It shows Lewis’ motivation for becoming heavily involved in the Civil Rights movement, including his first meeting with Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.  The book also covers the sit-in movement that swept the south and the birth of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC.)

The life of John Lewis is one that is truly inspiring and a must-read for people of all ages and walks of life.  He is the only speaker of the 1963 March on Washington still alive and it is so important that his story is preserved for all.  His life is a history lesson, covering the major events of the Civil Rights movement and taking you right to the heart of it all.  

I am so excited to see that he has decided to share his story in the form of a graphic novel.  I think that this will bring the story to kids who may not want to read a history book and it’s important that this history remains alive in our younger generations.  In the book, we see a comic book that was handed out during the civil rights movement, Martin Luther King and the Montgomery Story, that inspired many young men of the time.  This was used to teach the concepts of nonviolent action that were central to the movement.  It inspired Lewis and is a major reason why he agreed with the idea to tell his story in this form.

I’m such a fan of writing history books and memoirs in graphic novel form.  I think this should be done for classroom books.  Even as a person who majored in history in university, I can say that sometime history books are boring or overwhelming.  Graphic novels bring these stories to life and are a great way to engage younger readers.  

March: Book Two is currently out but I’m unsure of when Book Three is being released.  And that’s the only downside of the book, that I have to wait for the final instalment.