Durham Reads Together with Rep. John Lewis
In October, the library will host its biennial community read program, Durham Reads Together, featuring March: Book One by Congressman John Lewis. March: Book One is a graphic memoir that chronicles Lewis’ struggle for civil and human rights. The month-long celebration’s kickoff weekend will begin with “Durham Marches Together,” a unity march celebrating Durham’s history and progress on civil rights. The march will start at 9 a.m. at the Main Library on Saturday, Oct. 4, and end at the Durham Civil Rights Mural, where Congressman Lewis and other officials will address the marchers. Durham Reads Together invites the entire community to read the same book and attend programs around its theme, inspiring discussions on important issues, including race, family, identity, faith, education, culture, music and visual art. March: Book One, co-written by Andrew Aydin and illustrated by Nate Powell, is a first-hand account of Lewis’ lifelong fight for civil rights, exploring the distance traveled since the days of Jim Crow and segregation.March is rooted in Lewis’ personal story, but also reflects on the highs and lows of the broader civil rights movement. The first installation of a trilogy, Book One spans Lewis’ youth in rural Alabama, his life-changing meeting with Martin Luther King, Jr., the birth of the Nashville Student Movement and the battle to tear down segregation through nonviolent lunch counter sit-ins. Lewis is the Democratic representative from Georgia’s 5th District. A complete listing of Durham Reads Together programs and events can be found at durhamreadstogether.org.
