Reviews with content warning for Racism - Wake Up America 1940-1960

You need to sign in or sign up before continuing.

Reviews tagging 'Racism'

Wake Up America 1940-1960 by John Lewis, Andrew Aydin

64 reviews

erinmjustice's review against another edition

Go to review page

dark emotional hopeful informative inspiring reflective relaxing tense fast-paced

5.0

Content Warnings

keeganrb's review against another edition

Go to review page

informative inspiring fast-paced

5.0

Content Warnings

anniefwrites's review against another edition

Go to review page

dark inspiring tense medium-paced

I had the privilege to hear John Lewis speak once, and his voice jumps off the page in this first volume of his graphic memoir. It covers a wide swath of time, from his youth through the sit-ins of the early civil rights movement. I think the only thing that takes away from the story is the black and white color palette—I think if it were in color, it would emphasize that this didn’t happen very long ago.

Content Warnings

criticalgayze's review against another edition

Go to review page

hopeful informative inspiring reflective medium-paced

5.0

While (and I know this will be fairly obvious) I think I would need to give the whole collection a chance to give the most accurate and fairest rating, March: Book One was an incredibly moving and captivating piece of graphic memoir. The powerful nature of visual storytelling is, while running the risk of asking to see the pain of others, an effective choice for chronicling tales of injustice. Much in the way I found it moving in Mira Jacob's Good Talk, the use of the graphic memoir here again highlights the experience in an undeniably emotive way.

I also found the framing of the story very interesting. The memoir narrative in Book One is framed around Lewis getting prepared to leave his office for the inauguration of President Obama on January 20, 2009. In much the way Scrooge is prompted to reconsider his choices by spectral visitations in A Christmas Carol, Lewis's life stories are instigated by things that play out during the preparations. He is first visited by a family of constituents from Atlanta, which leads to a reflection on his childhood and schooling. Next, a message from Reverend Jim Lawson prompts a reflection on his initiation to direct involvement with civil rights in Nashville. Finally, a missed phone call on the way out of his office leads to scenes from Lewis's first march on the office of the Mayor of Nashville, which led to the integration of lunch counters in the city.

Very powerful, very stylish, and very well constructed: All the things you want in a piece of graphic art.

Content Warnings

nrogers_1030's review against another edition

Go to review page

adventurous challenging emotional informative inspiring reflective tense medium-paced

5.0

Content Warnings

rynicolereads's review against another edition

Go to review page

emotional informative medium-paced

4.25

Growing up on the West Coast, we learned about the Civil Rights Era in a way that glossed over how difficult and dangerous things were for those who were part of the movement. This graphic novel is very accessible but doesn't shy away from covering the darker aspects of the period. I'm so glad it exists, and I want every American to read it.

Content Warnings

ansleynoelle's review against another edition

Go to review page

emotional hopeful informative inspiring reflective tense fast-paced

5.0

Content Warnings

paperknotbooks's review against another edition

Go to review page

emotional hopeful informative inspiring reflective tense fast-paced

5.0

Content Warnings

strange's review against another edition

Go to review page

challenging emotional hopeful informative reflective medium-paced

4.0

This book was really well done! I think the graphic novel format was perfect for a story like this, and the illustrations were done so well and were some of the most dynamic graphic novel scenes I've seen outside an action story or manga. This didn't quite hit the emotional beat for me to give this the extra star; all of the ideas presented were ones I had heard before, but it's all presented in such a wonderful way that it is worth the read no matter your knowledge base.

Content Warnings

ellahaugdahl's review against another edition

Go to review page

informative inspiring sad tense fast-paced

3.0

To read this book you'll have to read up on the Civil Rights movement and African American history in order to understand

Content Warnings

More...