U.S. Rep. and civil rights icon John Lewis moved a standing-room only crowd from laughter to tears and back again during a Sunday afternoon panel at Dragon Con 2015.
Lewis was there to field questions on "March: Book 2," the second graphic novel depicting his role in the civil rights movement, along with co-author Andrew Aydin, an Atlanta native, Lovett School graduate and 18-year Dragon Con veteran, who also serves as Lewis' technology policy aide. It wasn't Lewis' first Con experience -- the pair also attended Dragon Con last year to promote the first "March" book, which was released in 2013, and Lewis honored "Star Trek" actress Nichelle Nichols at a banquet on Saturday night (not to mention Lewis' appearance at Comic Con earlier this year, where he went viral with his cosplay).
Lewis and Aydin touched on everything from the Freedom Rides to Lewis’ relationship with Malcolm X and what Lewis thinks of the Black Lives Matter movement:
On making young people aware of the Civil Rights movement: Lewis said we have to find a way to make the movement “plain and clear,” which he thinks the “March” books are trying to do. He related a story about Martin Luther King Jr.’s father saying “Son, you have to make it plain” when he was writing his sermons.
On the 1961 Freedom Rides: Lewis, who was one of the 13 original Freedom Riders, recalled the white and black activists eating a meal of Chinese food before they left from Washington, DC. "Eat well," someone said. "This might be our last supper." He said an interracial group being able to sit down and eat together in the U.S. capitol created a "circle of trust" amongst the activists, "a band of brothers and sisters."
He also brought the Dragon Con crowd to tears with a story about forgiving a man who, more than 30 years later, apologized for beating Lewis during a stop in Rock Hill, S.C.
On Lewis’ relationship with his family: As he took on increasingly dangerous duties as the chairman of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee, Lewis’ relationship with his family -- who didn’t understand why he was undertaking the risk -- became more strained. “A schism developed,” he said. “For years, there was a division there.” But after the Voting Rights Act was passed, his relationship with his mother improved. “She became a real crusader that everyone should be registered to vote.”
On Lewis' relationship with Malcolm X: When Lewis met Malcolm X in 1963, the civil rights leader didn't agree with the non-violent approach, but by the time Lewis encountered him again in 1964 in Nairobi, "he was starting to come around," Lewis said. "He was a changed man."
On deciding what to keep in –and leave out of – the "March" books: Aydin said each book has been longer than the last, because it's so difficult to cut anything out. "These are real people whose sacrifices affected all of our lives," he said. "A lot of them have escaped popular notice, and this is our chance to give them recognition."
On the success of the books: Aydin said the first "March" book, which received an honor from the Coretta Scott King Book Awards and was the first graphic novel to win a Robert F. Kennedy Book Award, defied expectations and potentially changed people minds about the legitimacy of the graphic novel as literature. "I've been a lifelong comic book fan, and you have to pinch yourself, because we did it."
On what we can still learn from the Civil Rights movement today: "The way of peace, love and non-violence is the much better way. We all live in the same house – not just the American house, but the world. If we see something unjust, we have to speak up."
On the Black Lives Matter movement: Lewis directed the crowd to read a recent New York Times editorial on the topic. "All lives do matter," Lewis said. "We've got to respect one another as human beings."
On young people's reaction to Lewis and "March": Lewis recalled a 9-year-old at a book signing saying, "'Mr. Lewis, why are you so awesome?' I didn't know how to respond," Lewis said, getting a big laugh from the room.
On the Voting Rights Act: Lewis said it's important to get a bill passed and signed into law. "We need to open up the political process and let everyone come in," Lewis said. "We need to make it easy."
Several attendees of the panel shared their thoughts on Twitter:
Lewis and Aydin, along with illustrator Nate Powell, are currently working on “March: Book 3.”
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