Watch Congressman John Lewis, Civil Rights Superhero, on His Graphic Novel March And Comic Con

CBS This Morning ran an extremely interesting and inspiring profile on Congressman John Lewis today, calling the Congressman a civil rights superhero.  The seventy-five year old man sees himself as an agent of change, and hopes to pass history to a new generation through the comic book series that he co-creates with Andrew Aydin and Nate Powell, March.  Co-author Andrew Aydin is quoted as saying that no one embodied the ideals of comic book heroes that do “the right thing for no other reason than it was the right thing to do” like John Lewis.  At Comic Con, John Lewis recreated his 1965 march clothing ensemble, and he said that a “throng of people” walked with him.

March is available through Top Shelf and IDW Publishing.  Official IDW press release and CBS video follows:

CBS Profiles Congressman Lewis’s MARCH At Comic-Con And The Youth He’s Inspiring

July 24, 2015 – Today, CBS This Morning featured an amazing segment on the award-winning March series created by Congressman John Lewis, Andrew Aydin, and Nate Powell, calling Lewis a “civil rights superhero.”

CBS’s Jan Crawford asked the congressman about his recent trip to Comic-Con, where he dressed “in costume” recreating the trench coat and backpack he wore to march for voting rights across the Edmund Pettus Bridge in Selma, Alabama, 50 years ago. At the convention, he joined hands with local students who had studied March and led a “children’s march” through the halls of Comic-Con, with a huge crowd following solemnly behind.

“I walked with little children, wonderful little children,” says Lewis, who was joined by Aydin and Powell every step of the way. “We marched onto the floor of the convention center. It was unreal, unbelievable… and this throng of people came walking with us.”

CBS then sat down with the students who had marched with Congressman Lewis to find out what they’d learned from March. “He empowers me to fight for what is right… not giving up so easily.” said 9-year-old Valerie Medina. “A superhero does the right thing, and so does he,” agreed Ameera Ali, 10. “Superheroes are meant to help people, and that’s exactly what John Lewis does.”

Lewis explained his goals for the series, which has already achieved #1 New York Times Bestseller status, become required reading at colleges & universities nationwide, and been honored by both the Coretta Scott King & Robert F. Kennedy Book Awards: “It is important to educate, to inform, and to inspire another generation of young people to say ‘When I see something that is not right, not fair… I too can do something. I can speak up. I can speak out. I can find a way to get in the way.'”

 

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