Run: Book One

Gr 8 Up–In this follow-up to the acclaimed “March” trilogy, which picks up right after the signing of the Voting Rights Act of 1965, Lewis and the Student Non-violent Coordinating Committee (SNCC) face one challenge after another. White supremacists, including law enforcement, resist social change and calls for integration. White violence and domestic terrorism target churches, traffic stops, voting booths, and public demonstrations. Apartheid in South Africa and the Vietnam War, along with the draft, add new frontiers to a progressive movement that watches one cold-blooded killing after another take place in the United States without justice. Increased pressure and lackluster results lead to infighting among SNCC’s membership, who work to make change from a place of love but become increasingly frustrated and jaded. Lewis is but one committed figure here, as many dedicated Black and white members of SNCC are depicted, including those who opposed Lewis’s leadership and continuous calls for integration and nonviolence. Fury and Powell’s artwork captures various states of helplessness, from losing an election to staring down the barrel of a gun, while also conveying the determination and anger that Lewis and his peers summoned to keep from quitting. Extensive biographical, reference, and artistic notes in the back matter will illuminate casual and student readers alike.