MARCH: BOOK ONE
March: Book One tells the beginning of the story of John Lewis and his influence on the Civil Rights Movement.
I like these kinds of books that tell a commonly known story through the eyes of someone who was there, and from their perspective. It really personalizes the story and makes you feel the emotions of the events.
The story is framed in the present day, the day of President Barack Obama's Inauguration as the First Black President. The story is told through a flash back, as a woman's sons are asking the Older John Lewis questions about how he became part of the Civil Rights movement. In the flashback sequence of answering questions, John Lewis as a child started noticing changes happening in his world. As he visited his Uncle Otis in Buffalo he realized that Segregation wasn't a mandatory thing when he saw that his Uncle lived next to White People on both sides. This made John realize that things are going to be different very soon.
I find it amazing how much Civil Rights history John Lewis lived through is simply amazing. When I read history books, I feel like I have no concept of time. When I think about my own life, I remember a time when the internet didn't even exist. I remember learning about Google for the first time, back when it had that hideous logo. I remember when my parents got their first Motorola StarTAC phone. Now I'm writing this online without the use of any kind of word processor or typewriter to be posted online and then viewed by anyone in the entire world with the click of a button, and at the same time streaming High Definition Video across a fiber optic wire right to my computer. I guess what I'm trying to say is that we don't really appreciate time unless we're experiencing it.
When I think about all the Civil Rights History John Lewis has lived through, such as the death of Emmett Till, or the formation of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee, and being a speaker at Martin Luther King's famous "I have a Dream" speech. When I remember our history, I don't really think that those things could have all happened in one persons lifetime. But I guess Time really flies.
