Friday, September 29, 2017

Cephalopod Coffeehouse: September 2017

Welcome one and all to the Cephalopod Coffeehouse, a cozy gathering of book lovers, meeting to discuss their thoughts regarding the works they enjoyed most over the previous month.  Pull up a chair, order your cappuccino and join in the fun.  If you wish to add your own review to the conversation, please sign on to the link list at the end of my post.

Title: March: Book One
Writers: John Lewis and Andrew Aydin
Artist: Nate Powell
via Amazon
Racial tension is nothing new in the United States.  In truth, it is the central theme of our history.  This land was not "settled" by Europeans.  It was stolen.  Our economy was dependent on African slave labor for generations.  More than once, our government has used an attack by foreign powers as an excuse to betray its own citizens.  Obviously, the events in Charlottesville brought the issues into sharper focus than we've seen in a long time.  But pretending this is a new or even reawakened problem is ignorant, naive, delusional or worse.

Congressman John Lewis is a genuine American hero, a front line veteran of the Civil Rights Movement.  In the three-part graphic novel series March, Lewis tells the story of his life in the struggle. Book One begins in medias res, Lewis joining in the march across the bridge in Selma in 1965, then jumps ahead to the morning of Obama's inauguration in 2009, then back to Lewis's childhood in rural Alabama.  This first volume about his early life takes us up to his experience with the lunch counter sit-ins in Nashville in 1960.

Lewis's reflections on discrimination and the fight to end it are deeply personal.  He recalls the conversations he had on the bridge in Selma, the pain of realizing what separate but equal meant to his own education and the challenges of training for non-violent resistance.  As much as we might pat ourselves on the back for the progress made in the half-century since Selma, the lessons of Lewis's story are just as relevant now.  Equality is incrementally closer but still a long way off.  It has been heartening, in the weeks since Charlottesville, to see that so many are still willing to take a stand.  May Lewis's example serve us all in our always uncertain yet forever hopeful future.

Please join us and share your own review of your best read from the past month.  This month's link list is below.  I'll keep it open until the end of the day.  I'll post October's tomorrow.  Meetings are the last Friday of each month.  Next gathering is October 27th.


14 comments:

  1. Sometimes it staggers me that in this day and age, racism and bigotry and all that horrible stuff is coming so much to the surface and being reignited in some ways. But I think it's always been there, it's just been 'suppressed', until such a time as the likes of certain leaders of nations seem to encourage it to be spewed out. In a way, one night say it's good that the truth is coming out - it tells the story as it really is, rather than things going on as a continuous denial that anything is wrong. Hopefully this is the way that we move closer to 'healing' or reconciliation or whatever you want to call it - by facing these ugly things head on.

    I didn't study American history so don't know about this guy, or about U.S. history in any detail. I do find it fascinating and horrifying to see the stuff going on at the moment in the U.S. (and Australia, and other countries) though.

    Just added my link, a little late to the party. ;)

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    1. Not late at all. Always delighted to have you join us.

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  2. Prejudice and discrimination of any kind should not still happen in this day and age but it does.

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    1. The mentality of Us and Them never seems to go away completely.

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  3. This is one I might go out of my way to pick up.

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  4. This looks like a good and timely book. Like Trisha I'm still amazed that there is still so much hatred for the 'others' among us. Haven't we learned anything? I am constantly disappointed by my fellow human beings.

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    1. I don't know how to fix it either. Just keep trying, I guess.

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  5. Power to the people--and let's hope we can all see equality in this generation. I think we are closer than ever before, if only we can get the "power" people to make it happen. *resists turning this brief rant into a manifesto*

    Thanks for sharing. I bet my kids would like this too.
    V:)

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    1. I'd like to believe we're closer, too, but I realize my perspective is not the one that counts.

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  6. I just bought this book for my nephew to help with deal with life as a young adult black man experiencing a raccial prejudice, he's been sheilded from, for the first time in his life.

    I wanted him to understand that many people who are showing hatred for him now have probably always hated him simply for existing, but unfortunately they are no longer keeping it themselves because acts and opinions of hatred have become glamourized by our nationn's leaders, thus repeating history.

    I wanted him to see that there has always been this stuggle of acceptance and hate, and that even though it's not fair, there will always be people willing to fight for what's right.

    I wanted him to know that in the end, hatred will not be tolerated by good people.

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    1. So sad and so unfair that anyone has to have such a conversation with a young person. On the other hand, your nephew is certainly fortunate to have you for an aunt. May love save us all.

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  7. Discrimination is horrific. It baffles me that people can be so disgusting.
    On a much much lighter note, I like that this is a graphic novel - the more ways we have to engage people in opening their eyes, the better.
    Also sorry for my late response - after working 97 hour week I then had the glorious distraction of Grandchild 6 arriving! Happy-tired.

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