The story of late civil rights activist and Representative John Lewis will continue.
The trailer for Lewis’ graphic novel, Run: Book One, recently dropped and it’s giving its readers a peek at what they can expect from the story. This book, which recounts the events that occurred after the passing of the Voting Rights Act in 1965, is a sequel to Lewis’ graphic novel memoir called March.
In the 30-second trailer, the clips flash graphic pictures of the Klu Klux Klan, a riot, and police brutality from the book. In addition to that, the book will touch on an organization that both Lewis and fellow civil rights activist Julian Bond were both involved in — the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee.
The story will be “picking up after the signing of the Voting Rights Act in 1965, Run: Book One opens with John Lewis and his colleagues facing another arrest as the Ku Klux Klan prepares their largest hooded march in years,” as stated in the press release, written by the book’s publishing company Abrams ComicArts.
Abrams ComicArts also added, “Lewis recounts the highs and lows of a movement fighting to harness their hard-won legal protections to become an electoral force as the Vietnam War consumes the American political landscape—all while the forces of white supremacy gather to mount a decades-long campaign to destroy the dream of the ‘Beloved Community’ that John Lewis, Dr. King, and so many others worked to build.”
Famed politician Stacey Abrams, who is also a voting rights activist, said, “Run recounts the lost history of what too often follows dramatic change—the pushback of those who refuse it and the resistance of those who believe change has not gone far enough. John Lewis’s story has always been a complicated narrative of bravery, loss, and redemption, and Run gives vivid, energetic voice to a chapter of transformation in his young, already extraordinary life.”
Two years before his death in 2020, Lewis released a statement in regards to Run: Book One. He said, “In sharing my story, it is my hope that a new generation will be inspired by Run to actively participate in the democratic process and help build a more perfect Union here in America.”
Lewis came from humble beginnings before becoming an honored and well-respected representative of the United States Congress. He was an Alabama native whose parents were sharecroppers. As he got older, he became inspired by the words and message of Dr. Martin Luther King, who preached equality among all people and encouraged his followers to fight for their rights peacefully.
Lewis went on to become a part of the Freedom Riders and later joined the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee as a chairman, where he organized the historic March on Washington.
In 1970, he was the director of the Voter Education Project and helped millions of minorities to get registered to vote. In 1986, he was elected into the House of Representatives where he helped to manage the renewals of the Voting Rights Act.
Run: Book One will be released on Aug 3.
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