After a fifty-year career as an activist and US Congressman, civil rights icon John Lewis wrote a graphic memoir, March: Book One – the story of his life and the civil rights movement. March: Book One, the first of a series of three books, was released in August to great acclaim.
Now, Top Shelf Digital, in partnership with Fellowship of Reconciliation, is donating copies of March: Book One – and Martin Luther King and the Montgomery Story, the comic book that inspired Lewis to become a part of the movement – to every member of Congress.
Lewis and co-author Andrew Aydin will signing copies of the book, and speaking about it, at the Barnes & Noble in downtown Washington this evening. Follow the jump to check out the full press release.
MARCH: BOOK ONE and MARTIN LUTHER KING AND THE MONTGOMERY STORY
After more than five decades of activism, US Congressman and civil rights icon John Lewis has made history once again this year. His new memoir MARCH: BOOK ONE, co-written with Andrew Aydin and drawn by Nate Powell, is the first ever graphic novel by a member of Congress. It debuted in August to great acclaim from critics, TV hosts, book festivals, schoolteachers, and young readers alike, not to mention #1 status on both New York Times and Washington Post bestseller lists. That incredible launch was recently followed by a re-release of MARTIN LUTHER KING AND THE MONTGOMERY STORY, the groundbreaking 1950s comic book which galvanized Lewis and his generation of civil-rights activists, now available for the first time in digital format as well as a new reprinted edition.
Now, to celebrate the launch of both titles, MARCH publisher Top Shelf Productions has partnered with the Fellowship of Reconciliation (original publishers of THE MONTGOMERY STORY) and digital-comics leader ComiXology to share these powerful and timeless works with Rep. Lewis’ colleagues in Congress. Each member of the House and Senate is receiving a complimentary digital copy of both MARCH: BOOK ONE and MARTIN LUTHER KING AND THE MONTGOMERY STORY.
In a statement accompanying the gift, Congressman Lewis noted that the MARCH project “…is not just my story, it’s the story of a movement, the story of a generation that stood up for justice in our country.
“Just like the comic book I read more than 50 years ago, it is my hope that this graphic novel can inspire new generations to speak up and speak out, to make their voice heard, and, hopefully, to make our nation a more just and peaceful place for all.”
MARCH: BOOK ONE is the first in a trilogy, with the second and third volumes planned for 2014 and 2015.
Congressman Lewis and co-author Andrew Aydin are appearing tonight at Barnes & Noble in downtown Washington, DC (555 12th St NW), at 6:30pm, to speak about and sign MARCH: BOOK ONE. For more information, please visit: http://store-locator.barnesandnoble.com/event/82310
Photos courtesy of Top Shelf Comics