US Rep., Civil Rights Icon John Lewis' Book Travels To Peninsula

REDWOOD CITY, CA -- The civil rights movement's pivotal turn in history has been chronicled in a book called "March," which is due to make an appearance with its co-creators at the Fox Theatre in Redwood City Wednesday night.

The National Book Award-winning graphic novel represents memoirs of U.S. Rep. John Lewis’ time fighting for civil rights in the South amid the segregation battles of the 1960s. The American icon maintains a storied journey from a sharecropper's farm to the halls of Congress.

The Democrat from Georgia, who is a member of the party leadership, organized and participated in the landmark 1963 March on Washington. His activism has earned him several awards. He was beaten by angry mobs in the South, was arrested and taken to jail for the cause.

Lewis is unable to attend the free event. Tickets are available here.

Andrew Aydin co-wrote the book with the congressman, with Nate Powell providing the illustrations. Aydin is the digital director and policy advisor in Lewis’ Washington office. Powell is a New York Times bestselling graphic novelist.

The visit is part of the inaugural One Book ● One County initiative sponsored by the San Mateo County Office of Education and libraries across the county. One Book ● One County is designed to inspire enthusiasm for reading and spark conversations that promote understanding of important social issues and topics.

The program is part of a larger civics program, Project Solutionaries, sponsored by the county's Office of Education and supported by a grant from the Silicon Valley Community Foundation. Project Solutionaries is working with teachers in the county to connect history content to current events and provide students with opportunities to apply what they learn in class to real-world civics issues in their community.

"March" is Lewis' personal story. The series of books in the March collection provide a vivid, firsthand account of John Lewis’ lifelong struggle for social justice, illustrating the distance traveled since the days of Jim Crow and segregation.

Copies of March will be available for purchase at the event courtesy of Kepler’s Books & Magazines.