Fact Friday: Run: Book One by John Lewis

Image: Abrams Books

Run: Book One by John Lewis and Andrew Aydin. Illustrated by L. Fury and Nate Powell. 160 p. Abrams ComicArts/ Abrams Books, August, 2021. 9781419730696. (Review of finished copy courtesy of publisher.)

Happy Friday! Fact Friday features Run: Book One by John Lewis and Andrew Aydin and illustrated by L. Fury and Nate Powell. This is the beginning of a second trilogy by the team that brought us the multiple award-winning trilogy, March. It picks up right after the events in March: Book Three and the passage of the Voting Rights Act of 1965. The passage was a victory for Civil Rights activists, but the work against racism was far from over. There was pushback from many segregationists and there was still work to be done to right racial wrongs. This led to division within SNCC, the Student Non-violent Coordinating Committee, which Mr. Lewis led. He suffered a crisis of confidence after his ouster from the organization, but did not lose his commitment to pursuing a non-violent solution. "First you march, then you run."


Over thirty pages of back matter include biographies of the many Civil Rights activists who worked with Congressman Lewis, extensive notes on the creation of the book, sources and notes on the art. The March trilogy is quite popular among my students and they were very excited to learn about Run: Book One. Both series are essential additions to any type of library.