March Book Two, the second volume in Congressman John Lewis’s account of his Civil Rights Movement days, the March trilogy, picks up from Book One. Congressman Lewis, about to see Barack Obama sworn in as President in 2009, reflects on his efforts with the Congress of Racial Equality (CORE) and how they would stage sit-ins at diners and movie theatres in 1961 Nashville.
The younger Lewis organizes marches, leading to the Freedom Ride. But not without consequences. Lewis and his fellow marchers are imprisoned, beaten by both white bigots and the police, and sprayed with a fire hose while spending three weeks in the Mississippi State Penitentiary for “disturbing the peace.”
Meanwhile, buses carrying the protestors are attacked. Attorney General Robert Kennedy seems reluctant to intervene. And other activists like Malcolm X and Stokey Carmichael arrive on the scene, advocating against the peaceful approach adopted by Lewis and his colleagues.
Eventually, after encountering the likes of Bull Conner and the Ku Klux Klan, all the efforts of the Civil Rights Movement culminated in Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s powerful speech at the March on Washington in August 1963. Unfortunately, Book Two ends with the horrific firebombing in a church in Birmingham, Alabama in September 1963, an otherwise important event that will have a powerful effect on the movement.
In March Book Two, Lewis and co-writer Andrew Aydin do a good job of showing the reader what went on in this turbulent and often violent period. We get to see the inner workings of the Civil Rights Movement, including office politics, as well as the political struggles going on in Washington and in the South. Through it all, the reader sees and understands why the marchers kept on struggling for the same rights and respect as whites. Nate Powell’s powerful imagery neatly underscores this period in history well, although his capturing of some of the characters’ faces is a little shaky.
Greenwich Library staff are some of the most prolific readers in our community and are always looking to share their recommendations, no matter the genre. Looking for titles based on category? Check out what our librarians are reading and loving here: greenwichlibrary.org/staff-picks. Or, get personalized recommendations based on your reading tastes here: greenwichlibrary.org/forms/personalized-reading-recommendations.
Get the latest about Library book releases and staff picks sent to your email: greenwichlibrary.org/enews.
Questions? Contact:
Greenwich Library
(203) 622-7900
info@greenwichlibrary.org