ONE BOOK ● ONE COUNTY

One Book ● One County fosters community and discussion through literacy by inviting people to share a reading experience. The program is designed to inspire enthusiasm for reading and spark conversations that promote understanding of important social issues and topics. Research shows that when families and communities are involved, students' educational opportunities are increased as well as their academic achievement. Reading widely and often is a fundamental practice that is happening less often in our digital age but has a large effect on student achievement. A shared reading experience can promote conversations, create connections, and deepen the motivation to continue reading for other purposes.

ONE BOOK ● ONE COUNTY

Book trailer for March: Book One created by J. Smith on YouTube

About the book

March is a vivid first-hand account of John Lewis' lifelong struggle for civil and human rights, meditating in the modern age on the distance traveled since the days of Jim Crow and segregation. Rooted in Lewis' personal story, it also reflects on the highs and lows of the broader civil rights movement.

Now, to share his remarkable story with new generations, Lewis presents March, a graphic novel trilogy, in collaboration with co-writer Andrew Aydin and New York Times best-selling artist Nate Powell (winner of the Eisner Award and LA Times Book Prize finalist for Swallow Me Whole).

Book One spans John Lewis' youth in rural Alabama, his life-changing meeting with Martin Luther King, Jr., the birth of the Nashville Student Movement, and their battle to tear down segregation through nonviolent lunch counter sit-ins, building to a stunning climax on the steps of City Hall.

About the creators

John Lewis

Congressman John Lewis (GA-5) is an American icon, and one of the key figures of the civil rights movement. His commitment to justice and nonviolence has taken him from an Alabama sharecropper's farm to the halls of Congress, from segregated schoolroom to the 1963 March on Washington, and from being beaten by state troopers to receiving the Medal of Freedom from the first African- American president.

Many years ago, John Lewis and other student activists drew inspiration from the 1958 comic book "Martin Luther King and the Montgomery story." Now, this graphic novel brings those days to life for a new audience, testifying to a movement whose echoes will be heard for generations.

John Lewis is the recipient of numerous awards from eminent national and international institutions, including the highest civilian honor granted by President Barack Obama, the Medal of Freedom, the Lincoln Medal from the historic Ford’s Theatre, the Golden Plate Award given by the Academy of Excellence, the Preservation Hero award given by the National Trust for Historic Preservation, the Capital Award of the National Council of La Raza, the Martin Luther King, Jr. Non-Violent Peace Prize, the President’s Medal of Georgetown University, the NAACP Spingarn Medal, the National Education Association Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Award, and the only John F. Kennedy "Profile in Courage Award" for Lifetime Achievement ever granted by the John F. Kennedy Library Foundation.

Andrew Aydin

An Atlanta native, Andrew was raised by a single mother, and grew up reading comic books. After college, he took a job with Congressman Lewis. In 2008, Congressman Lewis mentioned to Andrew the 1957 comic book Martin Luther King and the Montgomery Story and the role it played in the early days of the civil rights movement. Recognizing the potential for a comic on Congressman Lewis' life to inspire young people, Andrew urged him to write a comic about his time in the movement, but Congressman Lewis had one condition: that Andrew write it with him. Collaborating with artist Nate Powell, the MARCH trilogy was born in 2013.

Today, Andrew serves as Digital Director & Policy Advisor to Congressman Lewis in Washington, D.C. A graduate of Trinity College in Hartford and Georgetown University in Washington, Andrew wrote his master’s thesis on the history and impact of Martin Luther King & The Montgomery Story.




Nate Powell

Nate Powell is a New York Times best-selling graphic novelist born in Little Rock, Arkansas in 1978. He began self-publishing at age 14, and graduated from School of Visual Arts in 2000.

His work includes brand-new Ozark existential horror tale Come Again, civil rights icon John Lewis' legendary graphic memoir March trilogy; You Don't Say, Any Empire, Swallow Me Whole, The Silence Of Our Friends, The Year Of The Beasts, and Rick Riordan’s The Lost Hero. Powell is the first cartoonist ever to win the National Book Award.

From 1999 to 2009, Powell worked full-time providing support for adults with developmental disabilities alongside his cartooning efforts. He managed underground record label Harlan Records for 16 years, and performed in punk bands Soophie Nun Squad and Universe. He lives in Bloomington, Indiana.



Winner of the Robert F. Kennedy Book Award — Special Recognition

A #1 New York Times Bestseller

A #1 Washington Post Bestseller

A Coretta Scott King Honor Book

An ALA Notable Book

One of YALSA's Top 10 Great Graphic Novels for Teens

One of YALSA's Top 10 Popular Paperbacks for Young Adults

One of YALSA's Outstanding Books for the College Bound

One of Reader's Digest's Graphic Novels Every Grown-Up Should Read

Endorsed by NYC Public Schools' "NYC Reads 365" program

Selected for first-year reading programs by Michigan State University, Marquette University, and Georgia State University

Nominated for three Will Eisner Awards

Nominated for the Glyph Award

Named one of the best books of 2013 by USA Today, The Washington Post, Publishers Weekly, Library Journal, School Library Journal, Booklist, Kirkus Reviews, The Horn Book, Paste, Slate, ComicsAlliance, Amazon, and Apple iBooks.

AWARDS & RECOGNITION

ONE BOOK ● ONE COUNTY

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