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March: Book 3 by John Lewis, Andrew Aydin, and Nate Powell. A short review by Willie Fowler

 


(The reason why this is the 3rd book is because this is the only book I could find at the Champaign Public Library)


March: Book 3 by John Lewis, Andrew Aydin, and Nate Powell


March: Book 3 is an insightful graphic novel, in which it follows real historical events significant to Black History, following the partial perspective of John Lewis, a former U.S Representative. In this novel, it doesn't sugar-coat the narrative and tells things like they were in an accurate and straight-forward manner. 

Picketers, the Baptist Street Church Bombing, how voting registration was specifically rigged against African-American people, even the violent beatings of innocent people doing things as simple as sitting in the same diner as those of a different race than them.

 The illustrations in the novel as well are specifically intriguing, as they convey a grim and dark tone. I personally think that the lack of color, only with black and white being prominent, in itself is symbolic and represents the binaries between black and white people




There are a plentiful amount of scenes I thought were striking, and truly powerful within the novel, but one that specifically stood out to me is the climax scene, depicting Bloody Sunday, which had occurred on March 7th, 1965.  Selma to Montgomery's  three protest marches were held in 1965, along the 54-mile highway from Selma, Alabama, to the state capital of Montgomery. 600 people were marching due to African-Americans being obstructed from their right to vote, and the murder of Jimmie Lee Jackson just about a week prior. Bloody Sunday was an event too graphic to get into detail, but from the name on its own, you can make the inference on what it implies

Though I currently do not own the previous books in the March series, this book was truly interesting enough for me to find the other 2 books as soon as possible. I highly recommend this book, and possibly the others to read during Black History Month for the historical details, the illustrations, and the overall narrative to it.

Comments

  1. AnonymousFebruary 23, 2022 at 6:00 PM

    Damn. I remember this from last year and as of writing this, the book is 5 feet away from me with the captivating cover. This book is one of the best, not for its history, but its lesson. A lesson never forgotten after Bloody Sunday. Weird first of all how a skin tone can change so much. Respects to all the race and genders out there for their hardship. Good job and thanks for the memories.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Deven GalvezMarch 13, 2022 at 11:35 AM

    I remember reading the March book last year and I remember it being extremely insightful because all of my previous classes on this topic, as you say, sugar-coated it. Although there were many scenes that left me staring at the pages from shock, it was a phenomenal book and based on this review, I will have to add this series to my reading list. Great job on this post!

    ReplyDelete

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