Reading Group Guide: March: Book One

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

Summary:

March: Book One chronicles the early years of Congressman John Lewis (GA-5). Lewis grew up on a sharecropper farm in Pike County, Alabama, where he would preach sermons to the chickens he raised. March: Book One depicts Lewis’ experiences on the farm, meeting Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., and attending college in Nashville, Tennessee. While in Nashville, Lewis attended nonviolence workshops and became an integral leader in the Nashville sit-ins, which desegregated lunch counters in downtown Nashville.

Introduction:

March: Book One follows in the tradition of using comic books to share the story of true events. March is directly inspired by a 1957 comic book, Martin Luther King and the Montgomery Story. The book was published by the Fellowship of Reconciliation and depicted Rosa Parks, Dr. King, and the Montgomery Bus Boycott of 1955. That boycott is shown in March: Book One to have been a significant influence on John Lewis’ own activism. Ultimately Lewis became one of the central figures in the Civil Rights Movement, participating in the Nashville sit-ins, Freedom Rides, the March on Washington (where Dr. King gave his “I Have a Dream” speech), and the march across the Edmund Pettus Bridge in Selma, Alabama. Lewis’ story is told across three March books, which have won numerous awards, including the Eisner Award and the National Book Award.

About the Authors:

John Lewis
Writer

John Lewis is the writer and main character in the March trilogy. Lewis was chairman of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee and a leader of the Civil Rights Movement. He has served as the U.S. Representative for Georgia’s 5th district (which includes three-quarters of Atlanta) since 1987. He was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom by President Barack Obama in 2011.

Andrew Aydin
Co-writer

Andrew Aydin is the co-writer of the March trilogy, along with John Lewis. Aydin has worked with Congressman Lewis since 2007 and currently serves as his Digital Director & Policy Advisor. Aydin’s graduate thesis was on the comic book Martin Luther King and the Montgomery Story, which partially inspired the March series.

Nate Powell
Artist

Nate Powell is the artist and letterer for the March trilogy. He previously won the Eisner Award for Best Original Graphic Novel for his 2008 book Swallow Me Whole.

Discussion Questions:

March was partially inspired by a comic book from 1957, Martin Luther King and the Montgomery Story, about the Montgomery Bus Boycott. Why do you think these stories were told as comic books? If they had been told in a different format, like a word-based narrative, what would have been different about the experience?

Why do you think Nate Powell created the artwork for March in grayscale rather than full-color?

March is told through the narrative framework of John Lewis telling his story to two young boys he meets in his Congressional office. Why do you think Lewis made the decision to frame his story this way?

How is violence depicted in March? Where is it hyper-realistic and where is it abstracted? How did you react to these different portrayals? Are there moments where the violence is portrayed off-panel and not on the page? How does this ultimately serve the story?

Do you remember living through any of the events depicted in March? Does this story differ from your memories or change your thoughts on these events in any way?

How does March differ from what you have read of the Civil Rights Movement in historical accounts? Where does March add more to the story? Where is it lacking?

In what ways can we apply March to current events and marches happening today? How do the Nashville sit-ins compare to the Ferguson protests and the Black Lives Matter movement? The Selma March compared to the Women’s March? In what ways are these movements similar? In what ways are public reactions to these events different?

Further Resources:

March: Book Two and March: Book Three:
The next two books in the March trilogy continue John Lewis’ story.

Martin Luther King and the Montgomery Story:
The comic book that inspired March.

Preaching to the Chickens:
A picture book about young John Lewis that can be used as an introduction to the story of March for those who are too young to read the graphic novel.

Walking with the Wind: A Memoir of the Movement:
John Lewis’ memoir of the Civil Rights Movement

Across That Bridge: A Vision for Change and the Future of America:
John Lewis reflects on his experiences in the Civil Rights Movement to provide insight into what is necessary to bring further change for a better future.

Selma:
A 2014 film about the march from Selma to Montgomery, directed by Ava DuVernay and starring David Oyelowo as Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness:
Explores the new system of racial discrimination created by the U.S. criminal justice system in a “post-Civil Rights Movement” America.

Historic sites of the Civil Rights Movement: https://www.nps.gov/nr/travel/civilrights/index.htm

Extensions:

Create a station for patrons to write letters or send postcards to their Senators and Congressional Representatives.

If it applies to your library, collect historical artifacts or local resources about the area’s own involvement in the Civil Rights Movement. Refer to the National Park Service’s guide for assistance locating places of significance: https://www.nps.gov/nr/travel/civilrights/index.htm

Introduce March: Book One or further the discussion by sharing present day news stories, such as ones about the Black Lives Matter protests in Ferguson or the Charlottesville white supremacist rally. If possible, find stories from your local area about present-day issues regarding race in America.

Booktalk: Lady Killer

Lady Killer by Joelle Jones and Jamie S. Rich

Lady Killer issue 2 cover

Stop me if you’ve heard this one before: trained assassin gets paid to kill people by day,while playing the devoted family man by night. He delicately balances the double life, making sure his family doesn’t suspect a thing.

But what if the assassin wasn’t the husband? What if it was a housewife in the 1950s? That’s the story weaved by Joelle Jones and Jamie S. Rich in Lady Killer, in which Josie stylishly performs hits for her employer before cooking dinner for her husband, mother-in-law, and kids. The plot hits all the classic beats, during which Josie has to try to balance her employment with her family and keep everyone out of the know, but it also humorously pokes fun at the genre. Josie will finish killing someone while in a fit and flare dress and high heels, then complain about the bloodstains rather than the murder.

Joelle Jones’ art reflects this contrast, portraying both Josie’s assassin life and home life in bright, bold colors. Josie’s dresses pop off the page… along with vivid red blood spatters. Speckled texture looms over each page, highlighting the violence of Josie’s double life, even when she’s performing mundane chores in her housewife role.

Chapter covers display mock-1950s advertisements, like this “car” ad: Stylish enough for her… roomy enough for everyone else!

If you like killer women and chic vintage style, be sure to check out Lady Killer!