John Lewis’ ‘March’ and ‘Run’ collaborators look to Mississippi visit to continue civil right leader’s legacy

Andrew Aydin listens again to outdated voicemails from John Lewis. 

To Aydin, the congressman wasn’t only a mentor and collaborator. He was the closest factor the previous congressional aide needed to a father.

Lewis’ voice was booming and deep, even when playful: “Andrew?” the voicemails play. “The place are you, younger man?” 

Aydin recorded cellphone calls as the 2 had been at work on their historic non-fiction graphic novel collection. Lewis would go to sleep speaking, the recordings capturing his snores. The 2 would later joke about these snores throughout guide talks for his or her work on the “March,” a trilogy protecting the lead-up to the voting and civil rights acts. 

“I assume the John Lewis I knew shouldn’t be the John Lewis everybody else knew,” he informed Mississippi At this time. 

Lewis died on July 17, 2020, from pancreatic most cancers. He was 80. His newest graphic novel, “Run,” revealed the next 12 months selecting up the place the March trilogy left off. 

Now Aydin and illustrator Nate Powell, who labored intently with Lewis on the books, are confronted with a brand new problem: touring and talking about their work with out Lewis at their facet. When the 2 come to talk on the Mississippi Guide Pageant on Aug. 20, it should probably be the primary in-person speak they’ve given because the pandemic started – and since Lewis died. 

“I’m excited to go to Mississippi,” Aydin stated. “I’m excited to be again. I’m excited to get to speak to individuals about this work. These experiences that I’ve had to assist preserve John Lewis, the human being, alive for individuals. I don’t need him to turn out to be a mythic determine or one thing that appears unreachable.” 

The 2 informed Mississippi At this time that persevering with selling and explaining the comics and their affect is important. Particularly now, when supplies used to show in regards to the civil rights motion in faculties are threatened underneath so-called crucial race idea legal guidelines throughout the South and in Mississippi. 

“We all know we’re underneath assault,” Aydin stated. “It’s why it’s so vital that Nate and I get out on the street and go communicate and inform this story. Because the congressman would say: ‘Go preach the gospel.’ As a result of now we have to maintain these works in faculties.” 

The three “March” books observe a younger John Lewis and organizers utilizing nonviolent civil disobedience within the battle for civil rights and finish to segregation. They chronicle a slew of occasions, from Lewis first assembly Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. to the Mississippi Freedom Summer season and Bloody Sunday. “Run” reveals the conflicts that come up within the aftermath of the motion’s victories. 

They’re comedian books – the identical medium as classics reminiscent of “Wonderful Spider-Man.” There aren’t any tremendous powers, however real-life excessive stakes. Aydin, Powell and Lewis went to nice lengths to make the works traditionally correct, all the way down to the dialogue. The panels transfer rapidly and create one thing simple to digest regardless of the quantity of historic context, which is why they’ve been lauded as an unbelievable educating instrument. 

Within the lead-up to engaged on the graphic novels, Lewis recalled a comic book guide about King revealed within the late Nineteen Fifties that coated the Montgomery bus boycotts. The comedian was offered out of automobile trunks and handed out in church buildings. It impressed nonviolent protests throughout the South. Lewis noticed the accessibility comics provided. 

“Congressman Lewis’ context for the ability of comics, in educating contextualized nonviolent actions, completely not solely set the precedent for the guide and the mandate for the guide,” Powell stated, “however it was, by itself already, form of a proof of idea in John Lewis’ thoughts.”

Powell has used the books in his private life to show his personal youngsters historical past. They’ve additionally helped him re-examine the gaps in his personal schooling and the sensitized model of the civil rights actions typically delivered in lecture rooms. 

The books have received a number of awards – the third “March,” a Nationwide Guide Award – and spent six weeks on the New York Instances best-seller record. 

The final time Aydin was in Mississippi it was alongside Lewis. The 2 had been a part of a distribution program for “March” that gave the books to college students within the Delta. 

“When the congressman and I might tour locations like Mississippi or Georgia, or North Carolina, he would typically remark about how shut we had been – or drive by – many of those locations that he was both overwhelmed or arrested or the place he staged protests,” Aydin stated. “And it actually drove the significance of what we had been doing and being there.” 

“Now doing it with out the congressman,” he added, “it’s actually laborious.” 

It may be a problem emotionally, however Aydin stated it’s not solely one of the best ways to guard Lewis’ legacy but additionally guarantee he’s remembered as a full individual not an untouchable historic determine. 

“What’s so highly effective about his story and his life is that it’s a mannequin for any of us,” Aydin stated. 

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