Lewis’s graphic novels march to No 1
People who know Dr Jack’s cartoons from the newspapers may be surprised to know he is also a keen birder – but when they look at the illustrations in this little book, they’ll understand. That’s because he brings the same off-thewall sensibility to his bird cartoons as he does to his political cartoons. Basically, this collection, like the two previous ones, features cartoons that lampoon birds based on their common names. So the poor old spotted thick-knee has a pair of arthritic-looking knees, the rosy-faced lovebird features a beak and two bright eyes peering out from a rose, and so on. AS THE trilogy rockets to the top of Amazon’s best-seller list, buoyed by a feud between its memoirist, US Representative John Lewis, a Democrat from Georgia, and President Donald Trump, the congressman is optimistic more members of a new generation will now come to comprehend how so many sacrificed much for civil rights.
During a week bookended by Martin Luther King Day, the inauguration of Trump on Friday and the Women’s March on Washington on Saturday, Lewis – the surviving member of the “Big Six” US civil-rights leaders – told The Washington Post via email that the lessons of his graphic-novel trilogy remain as relevant as ever.
“It is my hope that readers understand we were committed to the philosophy and discipline of non-violence,” Lewis said. “We were willing to suffer beatings, to be arrested, to go to jail for what we believed in.” Lewis said he doesn’t want to simply teach the rising generation; he
March: Book Two
wants to inspire them to speak out in an America where voting rights are still challenged.
“I’m hopeful that young people can see another generation that acted in a peaceful, non-violent fashion and never gave up.”
The congressman is gratified by the boost in book sales, but is focused on what work he needs to do going forward.
Lewis spoke last Monday in Miami to a scholarship breakfast for the 5 000 Role Models of Excellence Project, telling the young members of his audience they were “more than lucky” to grow up in a nation moulded by King’s sacrifices.
the graphic-novel trilogy co-authored by Andrew Aydin and illustrated by Nate Powell, depicts not only the Freedom Rides and Selma marches of the ‘1960s, including “Bloody Sunday”, but also Lewis’s meetings and protests alongside King, including the 1963 March on Washington. Lewis first met King while still a teenager, who King’s leadership hoped might help integrate Southern schools. Earlier this month, Lewis told
he did not view Trump as a legitimate president in light of Russia’s actions during the election. Trump responded with a series of tweets that characterised the civil rights hero as a man of “all talk” and no action or results.
Lewis is one of more than 40 Democratic lawmakers who vowed not to attend Friday’s inauguration.
Amid the resulting feud, sales of Lewis’s books spiked, with the trilogy set still at No 1 on Amazon as of Tuesday, with all three books in the set among Amazon’s top 50. won the National Book Award last year – the first graphic novel to do so.
Powell, the artist, says public response to their work in the wake of the Trump feud left him “energised”.
“We were shown a massive outpouring of support for what we’re at risk of losing – history, context, principled discourse,” Powell said. “I think a lot of people felt less alone in their indignation” as a result of Lewis’s remarks.
“Benefiting materially from it all didn’t sit well with me unless I could use that momentum in a positive, constructive way,” Powell said, “so I’m choosing to donate a big chunk of the weekend’s royalties to organisations working for justice, equality, and peace.” – Washington Post