Opposing Forces
In any person’s life there are hundreds, if not thousands, of different people and events that shape and form their character. It’s always interesting to analyze someone’s life and see what those forces are; particularly when they are someone like John Lewis whose life has been full of varied and colorful experiences. In the graphic novel March, Lewis, with coauthor Andrew Aydin and illustrator Nate Powell, tells the story of his journey from being the son of a poor sharecropper in Alabama, to a key figure of the Civil Rights Movement, to who he is today: a respected and compassionate senator for the state of Georgia. Among the many forces that have influenced Lewis throughout his life’s journey, the malevolent hatred of the …show more content…
Commonly know as the KKK or the Klan, this menacing organization was anti-black to the extreme. Their forces, often intertwined with the local authorities, were a frightening reality to any black who tried to vote or stand up to segregation, since such actions would often lead to vicious treatment from the Klan. An article from the African American Registry states, “although the Klan was often able to achieve its aims by terror alone, whippings and lynchings were also used” (The Ku Klux Klan). They used intimidation and terrorist tactics to cow any opposition to their white supremacy. In late April of 1961, Lewis joined the Freedom Riders, a group determined to test the transportation systems of the South and see if they were desegregated as the law required. In the town of Rock Hill, South Carolina Lewis and his seatmate tried to enter a white only waiting room. In a recent speech Lewis related what followed, “a group from the Klan attacked us, and left us lying in a pool of blood” (“Civil Rights Icon ‘John Lewis’ Speech” 15:41-16:00). Without trying to fight back the Riders continued their journey. This kind of sickening brutality was experienced many times by Lewis and the other Freedom Riders. Maimed and mutilated by their attackers, on several occasions they only narrowly escaped death. But Lewis and the other Riders, despite the atrocious …show more content…
Throughout his life’s twists and turns the power of good and the power of evil have pushed and pulled him in different directions. God’s providence wielding one or the other like the different tools of a sculptor, to mold and chisel his character according to the Divine will. Such antagonistic forces are at play in all our lives. But by studying the lives of those like John Lewis who reject violence and hate and choose non-violent peaceful love, hopefully we can insure that the evil of segregation never returns to this beautiful land of
In any person’s life there are hundreds, if not thousands, of different people and events that shape and form their character. It’s always interesting to analyze someone’s life and see what those forces are; particularly when they are someone like John Lewis whose life has been full of varied and colorful experiences. In the graphic novel March, Lewis, with coauthor Andrew Aydin and illustrator Nate Powell, tells the story of his journey from being the son of a poor sharecropper in Alabama, to a key figure of the Civil Rights Movement, to who he is today: a respected and compassionate senator for the state of Georgia. Among the many forces that have influenced Lewis throughout his life’s journey, the malevolent hatred of the …show more content…
Commonly know as the KKK or the Klan, this menacing organization was anti-black to the extreme. Their forces, often intertwined with the local authorities, were a frightening reality to any black who tried to vote or stand up to segregation, since such actions would often lead to vicious treatment from the Klan. An article from the African American Registry states, “although the Klan was often able to achieve its aims by terror alone, whippings and lynchings were also used” (The Ku Klux Klan). They used intimidation and terrorist tactics to cow any opposition to their white supremacy. In late April of 1961, Lewis joined the Freedom Riders, a group determined to test the transportation systems of the South and see if they were desegregated as the law required. In the town of Rock Hill, South Carolina Lewis and his seatmate tried to enter a white only waiting room. In a recent speech Lewis related what followed, “a group from the Klan attacked us, and left us lying in a pool of blood” (“Civil Rights Icon ‘John Lewis’ Speech” 15:41-16:00). Without trying to fight back the Riders continued their journey. This kind of sickening brutality was experienced many times by Lewis and the other Freedom Riders. Maimed and mutilated by their attackers, on several occasions they only narrowly escaped death. But Lewis and the other Riders, despite the atrocious …show more content…
Throughout his life’s twists and turns the power of good and the power of evil have pushed and pulled him in different directions. God’s providence wielding one or the other like the different tools of a sculptor, to mold and chisel his character according to the Divine will. Such antagonistic forces are at play in all our lives. But by studying the lives of those like John Lewis who reject violence and hate and choose non-violent peaceful love, hopefully we can insure that the evil of segregation never returns to this beautiful land of