YA Graphic Novel: March





My first love in academia will always be history. Mostly because there are so many stories of true perseverance, against all odds. There are people I've learned about that I have never met, but their story made me realize what kind of teacher, and person, I wanted to be. One of those people is the great John Lewis. 

In the "March" graphic novel series, the reader learns about John Lewis's early life, how he became part of the Civil Rights Movement and how he started working with Dr. Martin Luther King. The novel chronicles Lewis's fight for an education, as well as his fight for Civil Rights. Lewis was one of Dr. King's right-hand-men, and was very young when his involvement in the Civil Rights Movement began. The novel also details the plans, preparation and execution of the infamous March from Selma to Montgomery, Alabama. This march includes one of the darkest days in American History, Bloody Sunday, which John Lewis survived. The novel explains the training a person went through before entering a peaceful protest- which included brutal bullying, medical training, and memorizing phone numbers. The novel helps a person realize that to fight for Civil Rights meant to be willing to hand over life. Protestors and activists were arrested, beaten, bullied, and even killed. They had to know that they were fighting for something much larger than themselves. 

This is a trilogy series, and I suggest teachers and students start with book one. I love these books because there is so much history a student can learn from them, without ever opening a textbook if they do not want to. It's also a pretty quick read once you get going, so students can read on their own some nights, and come back to class ready for more. I can see so many options for ELA teachers, History teachers, and Reading Specialists to work together when it comes to a series like this one.
 I suggest this be for students in grade 8 or above, because some of the material is pretty violent. Additionally, it is a graphic novel so the reader will see violence depicted. However, nothing in the story is untrue. This was the reality for African Americans in the United States. Slavery had "ended" by 1900's, but an entirely new battle was on the rise.

Whenever I have taught Civil Rights in the Classroom, or if I had time around Martin Luther King Day, I like to discuss these books with students. I have had some students grab it off my shelf in the past, and I usually try to make sure they understand what they will be reading about before they embark on it. However, most students do enjoy it. It also leaves kids with so many questions about Civil Rights. The mistreatment they faced always leads to question of "Why?" 

If a teacher has time to really teach this series, students will need a history lesson first. I also think it's beneficial to show some clips or play some sound bites of John Lewis. Additionally, I think it's great to make the point that John Lewis only passed away in 2020. He truly spent his whole life trying to make the world a better place. He never, ever stopped. 
Below is a link to a short clip that was actually an interview of Barack Obama, but it shows John Lewis walking across the bridge, again.

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