March Book 3 (March)
Author: John Lewis, Andrew Aydin, Nate Powell
Published: 2016
On Goodreads
My Rating: 
Rated H for heart-shattering truths and harrowing activism.
“People are gonna laugh at us. They’re gonna say you’ve lost your mind.”
“It wouldn’t be the first time, sonny boy.”
John Lewis’s trilogy comes to its incredible conclusion. Amid the fight for the right to march for basic rights and lives that were tragically lost along the way as they fought for their right to register to vote. Explosive and unbelievably relevant for today’s world.
March Reviews
The conclusion of this trilogy was definitely powerful and stunning. While heartbreaking, it was also heart-stopping. In high school and even college, I didn’t learn just how horrifying it was during the civil rights movement. I wish I would have. What I learned was the basics and who Martin Luther King Jr. was. Shining such a harsh light on a pivotal part of history that’s still ongoing today. If taught on such an in-depth level then there’d be a deeper understanding given. I can’t say that enough.
While the first two volumes ripped me into terror, this volume had me in tears. The Summer of Freedom (yet another part of the movement I’ve never heard of) though it sounded like a music festival like Woodstock it was actually a movement to increase the statistic of black voting. It was met with so much force. I was left just the way I’m certain I was supposed to be: shocked and angry and broken.
“In Mississippi that summer we suffered more than 1,000 arrests, 80 beatings, 35 shootings, 35 church burnings and 30 bombings. Doctors who evaluated volunteers returning home from Freedom Summer described the symptoms of the emotional and physical toll as “battle fatigue”… – John Lewis
Several black people were killed in the street, in their homes, in their churches. I was stunned because that hasn’t changed. It shook me to my motherfucking core and I felt sick. I still feel sick. Change still hasn’t taken place. Maybe steps have been taken, much like they have been during Lewis’s time in the civil rights movement, but it isn’t enough. It’s just not. This trilogy has been eye-opening on a massive scale and I’m glad I read it.
Outstanding artwork. It pressed, even more, the intense emotion Lewis got across about his and every black person’s history. The showing and telling of this story, this history, was brave and empowering and amazing.
Overall
This is a must-read. I deeply insist. It will blow you away. I wish there were so many words I could say, but there aren’t and maybe that says even more. This trilogy does leave one speechless for so many reasons.
Quotables:
“…Recognition of the freedom party would say to them that somewhere in the world is a nation that cares about justice.” (p. 116)
“If there’s one thing I’ve believed my entire life, it’s taking a stand when it’s to take a stand.” (p. 123)
More to come soon…
-K.
Song Today? Ain’t It Fun by Paramore.
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The Scarlet Reader 
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