John Lewis and His Leadership Qualities
John Lewis, as explained in “March Book One”, started to show leadership qualities at an early age and developed them to qualities that pushed him as an individual to achieving the best in serving and leading others. He was a son born in the mid-20th Century when America was experiencing a transition from slavery and racial segregation (Todd n.p.). The people of color experienced severe racial discrimination almost in every corner of the country. The book “March Book One” presents the incidences in a comical way where John Lewis is drawn as the main engineer of the fight against racial discrimination. His transition from a small boy who had grown fond of leading chicken grew to a strong leader who helped in the fight aimed at liberating the people of color from cold-slavery. His developing leadership skills allowed him to participate in the fight against racial segregation in America. Therefore, John developed passion in leadership at a tender age; he grew up as a servant leader motivated by anger and inspired by the need for change, understood the sufferings of his people of color, inspired people to fight for change, and led by an example in vehemently criticizing slavery and racism.
“March Book One” presents a reader with a reflection of the reinvention of John as a young leader. After John learned of the existence of Martin Luther King Jr., he was so happy to hear his sermon and was interested in knowing him better (Lewis, Powell, and Aydin 55).
Fig. 1. John listening to Radio (Lewis, Powell, and Aydin 55)
From the images in the book, readers could see his reactions after hearing the summon of the Dr. King. The texts from the images are not so clear to comprehend but the last name was all he wanted to hear; the name of the new preacher who managed to give summon that captured the attention of John Lewis. He could go to school library searching and learning about Dr. King as a way of knowing what he did and how he achieved his goals. The reader acquires knowledge of what would follow when the young boy realized the existence of Martin Luther King Jr. Therefore, Todd refers to John Lewis as a leader who grew knowing that one day he would have a massive exposure and people would follow his lead (n.p.). From pages 55 to 60, John Lewis was bothered by the fact that he wanted to know Dr. King better and learn from his traits. Similarly, the story unveiled as he was approaching his sixteenth birthday the day he had his first senior sermon and managed to gather the audience in an interesting approach. The part managed to prove the point of leadership where John has grown interested in proving that he had more to do with his family and the community.
The short exposure in the pages between 55 and 60 was the turning point that changed John’s perspective towards leadership (Lewis, Powell, and Aydin 56). The need for leadership attributes had hit the young John at an early age (Todd n.p.), but the transition occurred when he heard the name Martin Luther King Jr. in a radio sermon. The sermon had bothered him so much that he was forced to gather information regarding the name to know more about the preacher. He was seen perusing books and articles in a library searching for the name and at last he found general information defining the name he heard.
Fig.2. John sleeping and in library (Lewis, Powell, and Aydin 57)
Lewis used to call Martin Luther King Jr. Dr. King. To John, Dr. King was everything he had ever dreamt of (Lewis, Powell, and Aydin 56). His desire to fight for his people encouraged John on his purpose in this world and the desire to become a leader rose to a higher level. The captions on the page offer a clear illustration of the expected John’s reaction. The narrative is easy to follow as the images correspond with the captions presented. For instance, the author outlines that John was thinking how Dr. King’s sermon had hit his head and he felt as if Dr. King was preaching directly to him. The image provided shows John lying on bed thinking hard about the sermon. Those were the first explainable leadership qualities that defined the nature of young John.
The book narrates the pain John had after news of a young fourteen-year-old boy who had drowned spread. News circulated that the boy had called a white woman some “funny words” before he met his demise.
Fig.3. the boy who was killed (Lewis, Powell, and Aydin 58)
Not so long after the incidence, another black female teacher was arrested for not moving to the back of the bus. The news was evidence that the people of color did not have any justice in matters affecting the community.
Fig. 4. The arrest of a female teacher. (Lewis, Powell, and Aydin 59)
Therefore, young John could not help but feel anger and agitation for the way he saw his people were treated. He grew the urge to meet Dr. King with the aim of knowing how the outside world viewed the lives of the Blacks. However, the pain and agitation in John’s eyes are easily detected by the way the images portray his reactions. He grew the urge to help the community fight racial discrimination and was determined to experiment his abilities.
The pages expressing John’s leadership qualities in the book bring the events as they unfold closely towards his success in his duties. For instance, page55 explains how John learned of Dr. King followed by page 56 where he learned of the killings of a young boy who had talked to a white woman. Subsequently, page 57 tells a story of a school teacher who was arrested for refusing to move to the back of the bus since the front area was preserved for the whites only. Racial discrimination had taken roots, and it felt like the whites enjoyed the move. Therefore, the book, specifically in the three subsequent pages, expresses the rejuvenation of John’s leadership qualities. The comic book illustrated John’s first adult sermon as the turning point when he realized that he could eventually stand in front of people and get their attention. John Lewis was not bold at first but regained his stability as he managed to give a strong sermon that changed what people thought of him.
Fig. 5. John preaching.
The author had used his life experience as portrayed by the surveyor who appeared to be Nate Powell (Costello n.p.). Nate Powell has helped in defining the origin of the book and the importance it played in creating a life history and an origin of the fight against racial discrimination in America. Nate Powell has analyzed the book in response to his interview with John Lewis. The analysis provides an understanding of the motive the book created in creating a picture of what happened in the mid-20th century in the U.S that led to the birth of equality and the end of segregation. The characteristics shown by the young John Lewis amazed many readers since the young boy could not help but yearn for more and more knowledge as he sought the leaders’ incorporation in liberating the U.S black community. Through the eyes of Nick Powell, the readers are aware of what was in the author’s mind before laying down the foundation of the book (Costello n.p.). The few pages analyzed above gave the reader a clear explanation of what happened before the birth of leadership qualities of John Lewis. The comic book is an example of interesting books that interacts with the readers’ minds from the start to the end of the narrative.
Works Cited
Costello, Sam. “Nate Powell | Full Stop.” Full Stop | Reviews. Interviews. Marginalia, www.full-stop.net/2013/08/27/interviews/sam-costello/nate-powell/. Accessed 13 Nov. 2016.
Lewis, John., Powell, Nate., and Aydin, Andrew., March Book One. New Yolk: Top Shelf Production, 2011. Print.
Ling, Peter J. Martin Luther King, Jr. London, Routledge, 2015. Print.
Todd, Moye J. “John Lewis (b. 1940).” New Georgia Encyclopedia, www.georgiaencyclopedia.org/articles/government-politics/john-lewis-b-1940. Accessed 13 Nov. 2016.
