Congressman John Lewis is at the center of a new graphic novel, March, the first of three volumes which focus on Lewis’s work in the civil rights movement.
Using the occasion of President Obama’s first inauguration, March tells the beginnings of Lewis’s involvement with the movement. It takes a conversation between the congressman, a grandmother and her two grandsons as the narrative. The grandmother asked how the congressman got involved in the movement and he unfolds his story for the two young men.
Michael Parnell
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What follows is the story of a young boy, raised by sharecroppers, who began life loving chickens and wanting to be a preacher.
One of his early stories is how he would preach to the chickens. That was the only place he could practice his intended vocation. To practice being a pastor, he baptized the chicks. One of these he held under the water too long.
The congressman was terrified when the chick would not awaken. Not knowing what to do, Lewis took the chick out into the sun, knelt and waited. The feeling of taking an innocent life ran over him. The guilt was so great. But as the sun got warmer, the chick awakened. The baptism of chicks ended that day.
One of the hard things for him to face in his teenage years was the fact that the church and the pastors would not speak up about what was taking place. When the Brown vs. Board of Education decision was handed down, he was shocked that no pastor spoke of it in the churches. But he noted that the pastor always drove off from church in a nice automobile.
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Later in his life, while in college, he met Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. By this time he had become a “boy preacher.” He had gone to college to train as a pastor. It was while in college he came in contact with the social gospel.
At the time, he was attending a “colored only” college, but he wanted to attend Troy State, which was closer to his home but segregated. He wrote Dr. King for help and this was the way he met Dr. King.
Dr. King told him he would have to get his parents’ permission and signature to sue. The money would be provided for the suit, but the parents had to sign. When he asked for their permission, they refused.
After this he came into contact with the principles of non-violence and the teachings of Gandhi. The more he learned about Gandhi, the deeper he became involved in the movement. The story moves into the days of the lunch counter sit-ins and the work to desegregate restaurants.
March is a great story of a true American hero. Congressman John Lewis continues to fight for the rights of all to be treated equally. With the 50th anniversary of the March on Washington, where Lewis spoke, we know that the struggle continues.
Written by Andrew Aydin, a member of Lewis’s staff and illustrated by Nate Powell, we are transported back in time to the moments in history that changed our nation. Aydin bases his narrative from Lewis’s oral history of those days. Powell provides powerful pacing through his illustration of the congressman’s story.
I met Congressman Lewis this year at Comic Con. It was the high point of my experience there. He gave me words of encouragement to continue to press for the freedom of all people and my ministry as a pastor. His presence was such that you felt the reality of the struggle and his need of passing it on to others.
March does this nicely and is worthwhile to find. I give it my highest recommendation.
Michael Parnell ([email protected]) is pastor of Beth Car Baptist Church in Halifax, Va.