Lewis grew up in Troy, Alabama hoping to be a preacher. A trip one summer with an uncle to visit relatives in Ohio opened his eyes to the inequalities between the white and black races in the American South. He was shocked to find his Ohio relatives living in a home in between 2 white families. When he returned home he had some trouble concentrating on his studies and in his free time was pouring over newspapers and listening to radio reports. It was on one of these radio stations that he first heard a sermon by MLK, Jr. that hit him like a bolt of lightening. MLK had applied the principles of the church to what was happening in the world at that time. It was called the social gospel.
Lewis wanted to attend Troy State University near his home but blacks were not admitted there. He wrote MLK about it and after being invited to meet with him, Lewis traveled to meet MLK where they discussed his parents suing the school on his behalf because he was a minor. His parents declined due to the threats and terror the family and neighbors would have to endure if they sued.
After beginning college Lewis participated in sit-ins at lunch counters in Nashville, TN. At first the sit-ins involved a group of blacks entering a white only store and asking to be served. They would leave when told that colored people were not served there. Later the group decided to not leave until they were arrested upon which another group took their place. The groups prepared themselves for abuse to be heaped upon them by practising being "insulted" by white people. They wanted to be able to handle the abuse with dignity.
Folks. This is history being told in an easy way for the younger generation to learn about how the civil rights movement got started. Whoever came up with the idea to write this as a graphic novel is a genius. No kid wants to read a political tome but a comic is another story.
I personally met John Lewis at a fundraiser that an attorney I worked for in Atlanta sponsored for him at the law firm we worked at during his campaign for his first term in Congress. I was quite impressed with Mr. Lewis. He was incredibly grateful for the opportunity to speak at our firm. I had never met a grateful politician before, and none since, and I have now been in politics for 42 years. He had something inside him that was compelling to me. I now know that I recognized a moral rectitude in him. He is truly a national treasure.
I already have purchased books 2 and 3 in the March series and will be reading them next.
