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dorhastings 's review for:
March: Book Two
by John Lewis, Andrew Aydin
My review of this particular book is going to cover the entire trilogy. That feels appropriate for the format of this book, given that it's a graphic novel in three parts.
I learned about this series by watching the Rachel Maddow show, though John Lewis has been on other television shows, and I just recently saw him talk to Stephen Colbert about it on his show (pre-crowd surfing, as you do).
I am of the generation right behind the generation that lived through the events of the 1950s and 1960s, so I did not live through these events. I've grown up in the world that learned about and loved Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., and all that he represented. I remember being moved by emotion when walking around the Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial in Washington, D.C. (nestled between FDR's and Lincoln's memorials), and thinking that so much had happened to bring this monument there.
But the specifics of the history were otherwise unknown to me. Not that I was especially interested, but this novel comes out at a very crucial time in American politics, where equality is still not something that happens all the time everywhere we go. Racial and socioeconomic issues are still prevalent but otherwise hidden from view (they don't always make good news stories, after all).
So I like that this novel really gives a history of the civil rights movement in the 1950s and 1960s. John Lewis gives some engaging background information, and the rest of the book is about introducing regular figures in the movement, the different organizations of the movement, and allowing the reader to get the feel of what it was like to be a nonviolent protestor during this time. Several key events are highlighted (the death of the three freedom volunteers: Andy Goodman, James Chaney, and Mickey Schwerner; the bombing at the Sixteenth Street Baptist Church in Birmingham, AL; the assassinations of JFK and Malcolm X; and, of course, the march from Selma to Montgomery, which is where the book ends).
It helps that i'm already a big fan of John Lewis. But what I really like about this series is that it's so accessible to multiple generations. I easily read each of the first two books in a day; the last book was significantly longer and I was well distracted by other things. I thought the artistic choices were fantastic. To those who wonder why civil rights is such a big deal and why legislation like the voting rights act was crucial, this gets right to the heart of the matter. The story is woven in with President Barack Obama's inauguration, which is clearly also the impetus for the whole graphic novel project.
I learned about this series by watching the Rachel Maddow show, though John Lewis has been on other television shows, and I just recently saw him talk to Stephen Colbert about it on his show (pre-crowd surfing, as you do).
I am of the generation right behind the generation that lived through the events of the 1950s and 1960s, so I did not live through these events. I've grown up in the world that learned about and loved Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., and all that he represented. I remember being moved by emotion when walking around the Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial in Washington, D.C. (nestled between FDR's and Lincoln's memorials), and thinking that so much had happened to bring this monument there.
But the specifics of the history were otherwise unknown to me. Not that I was especially interested, but this novel comes out at a very crucial time in American politics, where equality is still not something that happens all the time everywhere we go. Racial and socioeconomic issues are still prevalent but otherwise hidden from view (they don't always make good news stories, after all).
So I like that this novel really gives a history of the civil rights movement in the 1950s and 1960s. John Lewis gives some engaging background information, and the rest of the book is about introducing regular figures in the movement, the different organizations of the movement, and allowing the reader to get the feel of what it was like to be a nonviolent protestor during this time. Several key events are highlighted (the death of the three freedom volunteers: Andy Goodman, James Chaney, and Mickey Schwerner; the bombing at the Sixteenth Street Baptist Church in Birmingham, AL; the assassinations of JFK and Malcolm X; and, of course, the march from Selma to Montgomery, which is where the book ends).
It helps that i'm already a big fan of John Lewis. But what I really like about this series is that it's so accessible to multiple generations. I easily read each of the first two books in a day; the last book was significantly longer and I was well distracted by other things. I thought the artistic choices were fantastic. To those who wonder why civil rights is such a big deal and why legislation like the voting rights act was crucial, this gets right to the heart of the matter. The story is woven in with President Barack Obama's inauguration, which is clearly also the impetus for the whole graphic novel project.