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A review by lucidstyle
March: Book Three by John Lewis, Andrew Aydin
5.0
Serendipity—Synchronicity
Read on Mewsings blog
The unplanned coincidence of seemingly unrelated events can be serendipitous and cause us to place deeper meaning on the relationship and the impact of those events: the feeling of synchronicity, so termed by Carl Jung. Is the meaning placed by humans or is meaning already present in those events, waiting to be discovered by humans, a demonstration and reminder that we and everything we are a part of is superconnected…? Viktor Frankl discussed human propensity for determining meaning in his opus Man’s Search for Meaning and shows us that even the most inconceivable, unimaginably horrific experiences in our lives can provide meaning, even positive meaning. And Albert Camus was always reminding us that this meaning is an essentiality of being human: so celebrate it for the purpose it does provide!
Black Lives Matter has been gaining strength in its message and in its presence over the last several years. After George Floyd’s murder by police and early summer protests across the United States this year, I am able to grasp its significance. In recent years I’ve read Letter from a Birmingham Jail by Martin Luther King, Jr. and various writings by James Baldwin and Malcolm X, so I was moderately acquainted with civil rights voices in the 20th century. But now, it seems so important that I have already read those authors and know, through their voices, who they were and what they stood and died for. These were passionate, knowledgeable, relentless drivers of change, Malcolm X and King as opposite in approach as W. E. B. du Bois and Booker T. Washington perhaps, but all presented their ideas with irrefutable facts and the demand to change their country to accept themselves and black people on equal grounds as whites.
Today as this contemporary wave of civil rights activism is surging, I am becoming acquainted with modern voices behind the movement. And in my self-education, I am discovering and learning about more of the people who were so essential to the movement in the past, but whose voices blended more with the choir. A movement, after all, is nothing without a force of people to follow its leaders.
In particular, I have learned of a man named John Lewis. John Lewis spoke sixth at the March on Washington in 1963. He was a member and chairman of Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC). He sat in protest at Southern segregated lunch counters. He was a Freedom Rider with Rosa Parks to protest segregation on city buses. He was in the front of the line in Selma, Alabama to cross the bridge and receive the police attack. John Lewis, at the time I discovered he had decided to portray his role and remembrance of these events in graphic novel form, was still a member of Congress in Georgia. He is known, and with his recent passing, will always be remembered, as the Conscience of Congress: he was committed, courageous, and compassionate.
His gifts to us today and for our future are plenty. We have his own voice:
We all live in the same house. And it doesn't matter whether we are Black or white, Latino, Asian Americans and Native American. It doesn't matter whether you're straight or gay. We are one people, we are one family, we all live in the same house. Be bold, be courageous, stand up, speak up, speak out, and find a way to create the beloved community, the beloved world, a world of peace, a world that recognizes the dignity of all humankind. Never become bitter. Never become hostile. Never hate. Live in peace. We’re one — one people and one love. (Lewis, as quoted by Gregorian)
An important role model for nonviolence and the “good trouble” of civil disobedience, John Lewis is now designated to historical figure and legacy status. While remembering John Lewis and thinking about his commitment and his contribution to nonviolent activism as it is continuing and evolving today, the fact that he has passed gives an even greater feeling of necessity to in turn pass his opus: the Voting Rights Act, what Mr. Lewis worked his entire life for: “When you see something that is not right, you must say something. You must do something. Democracy is not a state. It is an act. The vote is the most powerful nonviolent change agent you have in a democratic society. You must use it because it is not guaranteed. You can lose it.” (Lewis, published in the New York Times, as quoted by Smith. Emphasis added.)
Lewis, John, and Aydin, Andrew. March (books one, two, and three). Illus. by Nate Powell. Marietta, GA: Top Shelf Productions, 2016.
March: Book One – the lunch counter sit-ins
March: Book Two – the Freedom (bus) Riders
March: Book Three – the March from Selma to Montgomery, Alabama
I believe these graphic novels are appropriate for middle school ages and up. There is undisputed difficult content (racism) and violence that is honestly represented in the art.
Sources and additional content:
Gregorian, Dareh. “Rep. John Lewis, ‘conscience of Congress,’ makes final trip to Capitol.” NBCNews.com, NBC Universal. July 27, 2020. https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/congress/rep-john-lewis-conscience-congress-makes-final-trip-capitol-n1235000
Smith, Jamil. “John Lewis’ Fight Goes On.” RollingStone.com, Penske Business Media. Aug. 7, 2020. https://www.rollingstone.com/politics/politics-features/john-lewis-tribute-jamil-smith-voting-rights-1040806/
Selma. Directed by Ava du Vernay. (2014; Los Angeles: Viacom CBS/Paramount Pictures, 2015), DVD.
Read on Mewsings blog
The unplanned coincidence of seemingly unrelated events can be serendipitous and cause us to place deeper meaning on the relationship and the impact of those events: the feeling of synchronicity, so termed by Carl Jung. Is the meaning placed by humans or is meaning already present in those events, waiting to be discovered by humans, a demonstration and reminder that we and everything we are a part of is superconnected…? Viktor Frankl discussed human propensity for determining meaning in his opus Man’s Search for Meaning and shows us that even the most inconceivable, unimaginably horrific experiences in our lives can provide meaning, even positive meaning. And Albert Camus was always reminding us that this meaning is an essentiality of being human: so celebrate it for the purpose it does provide!
Black Lives Matter has been gaining strength in its message and in its presence over the last several years. After George Floyd’s murder by police and early summer protests across the United States this year, I am able to grasp its significance. In recent years I’ve read Letter from a Birmingham Jail by Martin Luther King, Jr. and various writings by James Baldwin and Malcolm X, so I was moderately acquainted with civil rights voices in the 20th century. But now, it seems so important that I have already read those authors and know, through their voices, who they were and what they stood and died for. These were passionate, knowledgeable, relentless drivers of change, Malcolm X and King as opposite in approach as W. E. B. du Bois and Booker T. Washington perhaps, but all presented their ideas with irrefutable facts and the demand to change their country to accept themselves and black people on equal grounds as whites.
Today as this contemporary wave of civil rights activism is surging, I am becoming acquainted with modern voices behind the movement. And in my self-education, I am discovering and learning about more of the people who were so essential to the movement in the past, but whose voices blended more with the choir. A movement, after all, is nothing without a force of people to follow its leaders.
In particular, I have learned of a man named John Lewis. John Lewis spoke sixth at the March on Washington in 1963. He was a member and chairman of Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC). He sat in protest at Southern segregated lunch counters. He was a Freedom Rider with Rosa Parks to protest segregation on city buses. He was in the front of the line in Selma, Alabama to cross the bridge and receive the police attack. John Lewis, at the time I discovered he had decided to portray his role and remembrance of these events in graphic novel form, was still a member of Congress in Georgia. He is known, and with his recent passing, will always be remembered, as the Conscience of Congress: he was committed, courageous, and compassionate.
His gifts to us today and for our future are plenty. We have his own voice:
We all live in the same house. And it doesn't matter whether we are Black or white, Latino, Asian Americans and Native American. It doesn't matter whether you're straight or gay. We are one people, we are one family, we all live in the same house. Be bold, be courageous, stand up, speak up, speak out, and find a way to create the beloved community, the beloved world, a world of peace, a world that recognizes the dignity of all humankind. Never become bitter. Never become hostile. Never hate. Live in peace. We’re one — one people and one love. (Lewis, as quoted by Gregorian)
An important role model for nonviolence and the “good trouble” of civil disobedience, John Lewis is now designated to historical figure and legacy status. While remembering John Lewis and thinking about his commitment and his contribution to nonviolent activism as it is continuing and evolving today, the fact that he has passed gives an even greater feeling of necessity to in turn pass his opus: the Voting Rights Act, what Mr. Lewis worked his entire life for: “When you see something that is not right, you must say something. You must do something. Democracy is not a state. It is an act. The vote is the most powerful nonviolent change agent you have in a democratic society. You must use it because it is not guaranteed. You can lose it.” (Lewis, published in the New York Times, as quoted by Smith. Emphasis added.)
Lewis, John, and Aydin, Andrew. March (books one, two, and three). Illus. by Nate Powell. Marietta, GA: Top Shelf Productions, 2016.
March: Book One – the lunch counter sit-ins
March: Book Two – the Freedom (bus) Riders
March: Book Three – the March from Selma to Montgomery, Alabama
I believe these graphic novels are appropriate for middle school ages and up. There is undisputed difficult content (racism) and violence that is honestly represented in the art.
Sources and additional content:
Gregorian, Dareh. “Rep. John Lewis, ‘conscience of Congress,’ makes final trip to Capitol.” NBCNews.com, NBC Universal. July 27, 2020. https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/congress/rep-john-lewis-conscience-congress-makes-final-trip-capitol-n1235000
Smith, Jamil. “John Lewis’ Fight Goes On.” RollingStone.com, Penske Business Media. Aug. 7, 2020. https://www.rollingstone.com/politics/politics-features/john-lewis-tribute-jamil-smith-voting-rights-1040806/
Selma. Directed by Ava du Vernay. (2014; Los Angeles: Viacom CBS/Paramount Pictures, 2015), DVD.