Pistes d'exploration

Major events in American civil rights history are conveyed through the language of graphic texts. Consider the use of splash pages that emphasize significant moments (e.g. Lewis’ decision to apply to Troy State College). Panel transitions, such as moment-to-moment which slows time, also highlight important events.

Discuss the way shifts in time (flashbacks, flashforwards) impact meaning-making and the reader.

In groups, use a research process to consider topics arising from the text (student protests, civil rights, non-violent protests). Present the group’s finding in a spoken, written or media presentation.

What might John Lewis have to say about the current and former U.S. presidents? Using teacher-selected resources, research and discuss these figures.

After reading about John Lewis’s father, do a quickwrite on the meaning of being a sharecropper or tenant farmer. Use your own words to share your understanding with a peer.

The principles of nonviolence are fundamental values held by John Lewis. Research other leaders around the world who have espoused these same values. Create a kiosk presentation for peer-sharing.

The Silence of Our Friends

Mots-clés

Memoir , African Americans , American history , civil rights , illustrations (monochrome) , John Lewis , peaceful protests , racism , segregation

Commentaire descriptif

Through shifts back and forth in time, US Congressman John Lewis recalls his childhood on a sharecropper farm and his early years fighting segregation through non-violent resistance. Vivid personal anecdotes are conveyed, including a tense account of the dangers of simply driving through southern states. “Uncle Otis … knew which places offered ‘colored’ bathrooms—and which were safer to just pass on by.” Memories are presented in context with key events that sparked the demand for black civil rights in 1960s USA, such as the murder of Emmett Till, the sham trial of his racist killers and Rosa Parks’ stand in Montgomery, Alabama. Monochrome artwork makes good use of composition, tone and brushstroke to depict the underlying emotions of every scene. One page shows a childhood escape from farm work, through a stack of wide panels: the distant school bus, John’s dash across his father’s field, his leap through the bus door and a final panoramic view of the land, as the dwarfed bus takes him away. Of special interest is the book’s inside-perspective on training for non-violent sit-ins and marches. The protesters’ rejection of racist mores, policing and the justice system has a mighty effect, as shown in the inspirational ending. Final scenes depict continued action for desegregation, under dialogue balloons spoken by Martin Luther King, Jr.: “No lie can live forever.… Walk together children. Don’t get weary.”