Congressman John Lewis shared the stage with Martin Luther King when he uttered his ever reverberating “Have a dream” speech; yesterday, he shared a stage with Apple CEO, Tim Cook.
Big issues
Congressman Lewis was visiting Apple as he publicizes his book(s), March and March 2. March was the first graphic novel ever to receive a Robert F Kennedy Book Award. He was also at Apple to mark Black History Month.
Honored to host @RepJohnLewis at Apple today. His 50-year march for justice and equality inspires us. @MARCHTrilogy pic.twitter.com/I5ye7OdIDi
— Tim Cook (@tim_cook) February 17, 2015“It is a very unique way to present what is probably the most important story of my entire lifetime,” Tim Cook said when introducing Congressman Lewis at Apple HQ. “My hope is that everyone reads this, and I would love to see the day that it is required reading in every school."
Written to help teach the history of the civil rights movement to a new generation these beautifully illustrated graphic novels tell the story of African Americans and their struggle for civil rights. Congressman Lewis was one of the leaders of that movement.
The books depict a sequence of events that began fifty years ago with Bloody Sunday and the historic march from Selma to Montgomery, which seems particularly poignant in light of the “Hands up, don’t shoot” protests.
Change
“We were committed to the philosophy of nonviolence, even in the face of angry mobs during the Freedom Rides in Montgomery, Alabama at the Greyhound bus stations,” Lewis told Wired. “We never struck back. We were willing to suffer the beatings, to be arrested, to go to jail for what we believed in. I’m hopeful that young people who are thinking about what happened in Ferguson and New York can see another generation that acted in a peaceful, non-violent fashion and never gave up.”