March: Book Two

by John Lewis, Andrew Aydin, Nate Powell (Illustrator)

Overview

Congressman John Lewis, an American icon and one of the key figures of the civil rights movement, continues his award-winning graphic novel trilogy with co-writer Andrew Aydin and artist Nate Powell, inspired by a 1950s comic book that helped prepare his own generation to join the struggle. Now, March brings the lessons of history to vivid life for a new generation, urgently relevant for today's world. After the success of the Nashville sit-in campaign, John Lewis is more committed than ever to changing the world through nonviolence - but as he and his fellow Freedom Riders board a bus into the vicious heart of the deep south, they will be tested like never before. Faced with beatings, police brutality, imprisonment, arson, and even murder, the movement's young activists place their lives on the line while internal conflicts threaten to tear them apart.

But their courage will attract the notice of powerful allies, from Martin Luther King, Jr. to Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy... and once Lewis is elected chairman of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee, this 23-year-old will be thrust into the national spotlight, becoming one of the "Big Six" leaders of the civil rights movement and a central figure in the landmark 1963 March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom.

New York Times Bestseller
One of YALSA's Great Graphic Novels for Teens
2016 Eisner Award for Best Reality-Based Work - Winner
2016 Harvey Award for Best Biographical, Historical, or Journalistic Presentation - Winner
2016 Harvey Award for Best Graphic Album Original - Winner
2016 Street Literature Book Award Medal for Best Graphic Novel - Winner
2016 Denver Independent Comic & Art Expo Award for Best Work - Mid/Large Press - Winner

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781603094009
Publisher:	IDW Publishing
Publication date:	01/20/2015
Series:	March , #2
Pages:	192
Sales rank:	53,116
Product dimensions:	6.40(w) x 9.40(h) x 0.80(d)
Lexile:	GN850L (what's this?)
Age Range:	13 - 16 Years

About the Author

Congressman John Lewis was a leader in the American Civil Rights Movement. He was chairman of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC) and played a key role in the struggle to end segregation. Despite more than 40 arrests, physical attacks, and serious injuries, John Lewis remained a devoted advocate of the philosophy of nonviolence. He is co-author of the first comics work to ever win the National Book Award, the #1 New York Times bestselling graphic novel memoir trilogy MARCH, written with Andrew Aydin and illustrated by Nate Powell. He is also the recipient of numerous awards from national and international institutions including the Lincoln Medal, the John F. Kennedy "Profile in Courage" Lifetime Achievement Award, and the NAACP Spingarn Medal, among many others. He lives in Atlanta, GA.

Andrew Aydin is creator and co-author of the #1 New York Times best-selling graphic memoir series, MARCH. Co-authored with Rep. Lewis and illustrated by Nate Powell, MARCH is the first comics work to ever win the National Book Award, and is a recipient of the Will Eisner Comics Industry Award, the Robert F. Kennedy Book Award Special Recognition, and the Coretta Scott King Book Award Author Honor, among other honors. Aydin's other comics work includes writing the X-Files Annual 2016 (IDW), writing for the CBLDF Liberty Annual 2016 (Image), and writing an upcoming issue of Bitch Planet (Image).

Nate Powell is a New York Times best-selling graphic novelist born in Little Rock, Arkansas in 1978. He began self-publishing at age 14, and graduated from School of Visual Arts in 2000. His work includes MARCH, You Don't Say, Any Empire, Swallow Me Whole, The Silence Of Our Friends, The Year Of The Beasts, and Rick Riordan's The Lost Hero. Powell is the first and only cartoonist ever to win the National Book Award. Powell has discussed his work at the United Nations, as well as on MSNBC's The Rachel Maddow Show and CNN.

Editorial Reviews

Today, John Lewis is a revered senior Georgia U.S. congressman, but as a young man he earned his stripes in the tumultuous early days of the modern civil rights movement. In this stunning graphic novel, he tells the inspiring story of the March 1963 March on Washington and the dangerous period when he and other non-violent Freedom Riders were beaten by angry racist mobs and then often arrested themselves. Nate Powell's illustrations restore immediacy to these brave acts. Editor's recommendation.

★ 01/26/2015
In the second installment of his graphic memoir, Congressman Lewis continues to lay his soul bare about his time as an activist in the Civil Rights Movement. Chronicling the triumphs and hardships of the Congress of Racial Equality (CORE), this book paints a devastating picture of America in the 1960s, taking to task those who attacked peaceful protestors, and politicians who were desperate to maintain segregation. Lewis, Aydin, and Powell’s combined experiences combine to recreate scenes of incredible feeling, from Rev. Martin Luther King’s legendary “I Have a Dream” speech (and Lewis’s own, oft-overlooked speech on the same day), to a single, terrifying night spent surrounded by the Ku Klux Klan. Even passages that are less emotionally fraught still carry historical import, including Lewis’s recollections of private conversations with King. Throughout, however, it is Powell’s art that truly steals the show, as the veteran graphic novelist experiments with monochrome watercolors, powerful lettering techniques, and inspired page layouts to create a gripping visual experience that enhances the power of Lewis’s unforgettable tale. (Jan.)

Publishers Weekly

"With March, Congressman John Lewis takes us behind the scenes of some of the most pivotal moments of the Civil Rights
Movement. In graphic novel form, his first-hand account makes these historic events both accessible and relevant to an entire new generation of Americans."
- LeVar Burton

"A must-read monument... As Rep. Lewis continues to carry the civil-rights flame, this graphic achievement is a firsthand beacon that burns ever relevant today." - The Washington
Post

"This memoir puts a human face on a struggle that many students will primarily know from textbooks...
Visually stunning, the black-and-white illustrations convey the emotions of this turbulent time... This insider's view of the civil rights movement should be required reading for young and old; not to be missed." - School Library
Journal (starred review)

"Heroism and steadiness of purpose continue to light up Lewis's frank, harrowing account of the civil rights movement's climactic days... Powell's dark, monochrome ink-and-wash scenes add further drama to already-dramatic events." - Kirkus Reviews
(starred review)

From the Publisher

★ 2015-01-11
Heroism and steadiness of purpose continue to light up Lewis' frank, harrowing account of the civil rights movement's climactic days—here, from cafeteria sit-ins in Nashville to the March on Washington.As in the opener, Powell's dark, monochrome ink-and-wash scenes add further drama to already-dramatic events. Interspersed in Aydin's script with flashes forward to President Barack Obama's 2009 inauguration, Lewis' first-person account begins with small-scale protests and goes on to cover his experiences as a Freedom Rider amid escalating violence in the South, his many arrests, and his involvement in the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee's formation and later internal strife. With the expectation that readers will already have a general grasp of the struggle's course, he doesn't try for a comprehensive overview but offers personal memories and insights—recalling, for instance, Martin Luther King Jr.'s weak refusal to join the Freedom Riders and, with respect, dismissing Malcolm X: "I never felt he was a part of the movement." This middle volume builds to the fiery manifesto the 23-year-old Lewis delivered just before Dr. King's "I have a dream" speech and closes with the September 1963 bombing of the 16th Street Baptist Church. The contrast between the dignified marchers and the vicious, hate-filled actions and expressions of their tormentors will leave a deep impression on readers. Lewis' commitment to nonviolent—but far from unimpassioned—protest will leave a deeper one. Backmatter includes the original draft of Lewis' speech. "We're gonna march"—oh, yes. (Graphic memoir. 11 & up)

Kirkus Reviews

★ 01/01/2015
Gr 9 Up—Gr 8 Up-In this second volume, representative Lewis continues describing his experiences with the civil rights movement. As in the first book, Lewis attends Barack Obama's inauguration, flashing back to his life as a young man taking part in the fight that would make it possible for America to eventually elect its first black president. Lewis lays out his involvement with sit-ins and the freedom rides, as well as becoming chairman of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee and speaking at the March on Washington in 1963, where he urged the crowd to "complete the revolution." Graphic in every sense of the word, this memoir puts a human face on a struggle that many students will primarily know from textbooks. Lewis makes it clear that the movement was far from a uniform entity, with disagreements cropping up, some small, such as differing opinions about the wording in speeches, others more serious, including whether to respond to resistance passively or with violence. Visually stunning, the black-and-white illustrations convey the emotions of this turbulent time, from Lewis's fear and pain while in prison to Governor George Wallace's sneering indifference during his "Segregation forever" speech. Powell's use of light and dark is masterly, and the contrast between the joy of Obama's inauguration and the obstacles faced back in the 1960s is effective. This insider's view of the civil rights movement should be required reading for young and old; not to be missed.—Mahnaz Dar, School Library Journal

School Library Journal