Run, Book One

The March trilogy of graphic novels is a modern classic, a multi-award-winning set of books that chronicle the life of John Lewis during the first part of his life. This book, Run, was proposed as the first in another series, but Lewis died just as the final edits were made to it, and it is up in the air if it will ever continue. Still, it is a worthy and fascinating book well worth reading and revisiting.

This volume takes place after the first push of civil rights victories, and it shows how even that segregation was legal and voting rights cleared that equality was far from the norm. This book opens with a white congregation refusing to allow blacks to enter their church and worship, and shows more examples of how entrenched power structures made it difficult for true justice to be practiced. I think it is important to see just how much struggle existed and continues to exist, even after "progress" was made. We are still fighting some of these same battles now, sadly.

This book also features much detail about the workings and politics of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee that Lewis headed, and how it morphed into a different sort of movement that eventually gave rise to the Black Panther Party. 

It also chronicles several contemporary events, such as the Vietnam War and Watts riots, and how they all contributed to the political atmosphere of the times. This book ends with Lewis deciding to run for office, and even if it ends in an open-ended manner that may never be resolved, readers would know that Lewis was elected and served for decades as a US Representative. And I feel that what makes this book relevant and moving is how it shows the friction and effort necessary with any political action. 

Like the March trilogy, this book was written by Lewis and Andrew Aydin, with art by L. Fury, in her graphic novel debut, with some assists by Nate Powell. Fury has been at work on her own graphic novel project, Condemned, and Powell has a long list of credits, including the March books, an adaptation of Lies My Teacher Told Me, and his own works like Fall Through.

This book has received many accolades and glowing reviews. Publishers Weekly concluded their starred review, "Lewis’s stunning American story and legacy lives on in these pages." In another starred entry, Kirkus Reviews called it "an intimate, powerfully revealing look at a crucial, complex time, through the eyes of a true American hero." In a third starred review, Eric Carpenter wrote that it was "as informative and essential an addition to the nonfiction comic canon as its much-lauded predecessors."

Run, Book One was published by Abrams ComicArts, and they offer a preview, a teaching guide, and more information about it here.

History Comics: Rosa Parks & Claudette Colvin: Civil Rights Heroes

I have to admit I went into reading this book, Rosa Parks & Claudette Colvin: Civil Rights Heroes, with a bit of trepidation, because I know that Parks's story is often-told and also incorrectly, as if she was just some tired woman who happened into the situation, which could not be further from the truth. However, there was so much in this book that I either did not know or appreciate, and it was truly eye-opening. If I have a quibble with it, it would be that the title should be reversed, because its narrator and main focal point is Claudette Colvin, who just died this year and should be known by many more people. She was arrested nine months before Rosa Parks was, also for not giving up her seat to a white person in Montgomery, Alabama. The difference was that Colvin made for a poorer test case for litigation, as she was younger, unmarried, and pregnant at the time of the proceedings. It was not until later that Parks became the subject of that test case to argue against and finally end segregation (legally, at least). 

What this book does an excellent job of is telling things like it was, not sugar-coating language, events, or how some people ended up getting more credit than others for the civil rights work. It shows the long, laborious process it took to get justice, from the arrest to trial and later appeals. It shows how these events affected both women and their families, highlighting how they lost friends and jobs and also feared for their lives because of the stands they took. This book also situates these events with other contemporary happenings, like the murder of Emmett Till, to give a clear context of the times. It makes these people real, not just grand figures from history to be studied.

Reading this book the same day that I learned the Reverend Jesse Jackson died, and revisiting the 1984 skit "The Question is Moot" from Saturday Night Live, it strikes me that even after decades we are still dealing with the same issues of disparity, violent authorities, hateful legislation, and misinformation. It's shameful that some of us have hoodwinked by illusions of progress, when the same old things just happen under different guises. Having access to stories like these is vital for people to realize that these struggles are ongoing, difficult, and necessary.

Rosa Parks & Claudette Colvin was written by Tracey Baptiste and drawn by Shauna J. Grant. Baptiste has many books to her credit, including Kid X and Super Goat Girl. Grant has created her own series of Mimi graphic novels as well as a couple of entries in the Baby-Sitter Little Sister series.

All of the reviews I have read of this book have been positive. Kirkus Reviews called it "a valuable addition to the growing swath of graphic novels drawing attention to civil rights history." Johanna Draper Carlson wrote, "The narrator and the open, friendly art style make History Comics: Rosa Parks & Claudette Colvin an enlightening read with something new to say."

Rosa Parks & Claudette Colvin: Civil Rights Heroes was published by First Second, and they offer a preview and more information about it here. This book is suggested for readers age 8 and up, and it features some hateful language and references to sexual violence.

Strange Fruit: Uncelebrated Narratives from Black History

Strange Fruit: Uncelebrated Narratives from Black History does exactly what its title says. I was shamefully unfamiliar with most of the stories recounted in this volume, even that of the Noyes Academy. I single that one out because it was located in Canaan, NH, and it's a small town where I used to teach summer school. I had no idea that once a landmark school was located there.

There are many other stories told here in a straight-forward, semi-humorous fashion. These stories feature much courage and strength in the face of injustice, heartbreak, and misery. Some of these stories are about collective people, such as the shameful, racially motivated eviction of an entire community from Malaga Island. Most though are about exceptional individuals. There is the tale of Henry "Box" Brown who was literally mailed north to freedom.

Also, many forgotten figures are celebrated, like Bass Reeves, the most successful US Deputy Marshal; chess master Theophilus Thompson; magician Richard Potter, and bicycle champion Marshall Taylor aka "The Black Cyclone."

Like I noted above, there is an undercurrent of humor running through these sometimes difficult stories. One recurring funny feature is the flying baby birth, as seen in the "Box" Brown excerpt. Many of these tales start that way, and there are small jokes and asides from time to time. There is also the visual motif of the crow, which delineates the presence of Jim Crow enforcers and ways of thinking. Racial slurs are similarly represented pictorially, to good effect. These are stories directed toward a younger audience, but it does not hold back on showing the difficulties and hatred folks had to endure, as well as the will power needed to persevere through such conditions.

The artwork might seem too simple for some, but I think it is very expressive. Another critique I have seen from multiple sources that I agree with is that this book is very male-centered and also not so delicate about depicting Native Americans.

This book's creator Joel Christian Gill is the the Chair of Foundations at the New Hampshire Institute of Art. Since publishing this book, he has embarked on creating and publishing extended biographies of African-Americans in his Tales of the Talented Tenth series. Thus far he has two volumes, on Bass Reeves and Bessie Stringfield, and he is working on at least a couple more. He speaks about his work on Strange Fruit in this interview.

All of the reviews I have read about this book have been positive. Rob McMonigal called it "a wonderful addition to non-fiction comics." Allyce Amidon called it " visually witty, engaging, and well researched." And Megan Purdy called it "a great book that deserves to be read, discussed, shared and celebrated."

Strange Fruit was published by Fulcrum Publishing, and they have an excerpt and more available here.