John Lewis

American politician and Civil Rights Leader

Born February 21, 1940 in Troy, Alabama.
The only living Big Six leader of the American
Civil Rights Movement, having been the chairman
of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC), playing a key role in the struggle
to end legalized racial discrimination and segregation.
August 13, 2013
Top Shelf Productions
Summary
March: Book One is the first graphic novel in the series of three
graphic novels as a memoir of U.S Representative John Lewis, who
is also a key figure in the Civil Rights Movement. He is the only
figure among the Big Six leaders who are still alive.
The first graphic novel follows the story of young John Lewis, from
his early childhood in his farmhouse in Troy, Alabama. The story
portrays young John Lewis as a compassionate person who wants
to be a preacher. The story then follows to reveal his early influences, namely his visit to his uncle in New York and his first time hearing Dr. Martin Luther King speaks on the radio. When John Lewis
attended American Baptist Theological Seminary, he leaded a series
of students movement in opposition of segregation in the South.
The movement after being oppressed for a long period of time,
finally achieves the first success when six downtown stores served
food to black customers for the first time in the citys history.
Style Highlights:
- Constant use of heavily black shaded backgrounds in panels that
signals key moments in the memoirs of John Lewis.
- Emphasis on rising actions through the use of large, one page
panels.
- Constant use of closure to effectively portray feelings of character, with the focus on the use of closure focusing on the charaters
eyes.
- The narrative of the past and present intertwined to give ethos to
the story.
- The omission in the portrayal of violence to emphasize the ideals
of non-violence in John Lewiss beliefs in the succcess of the Civil
Rights Movement.
Critical reception.
Congressman John Lewis has been a resounding moral voice in
the quest for equality for more than 50 years, and Im so pleased
that he is sharing his memories of the Civil Rights Movement with
Americas young leaders. In March, he brings a whole new generation with him across the Edmund Pettus Bridge, from a past of
clenched fists into a future of outstretched hands.

President Bill Clinton
Riveting and beautiful
The Washington Post
Essential reading
USA Today