Author Encourages Innovation, and Perseverance

POUGHKEEPSIE – Before “March,” and before “Run,” there was “Martin Luther King and the Montgomery Story.”

“It was a comic book actually edited by Martin Luther King, Jr., himself,” Andrew Aydin explained to a room filled with Poughkeepsie High School juniors Monday. “Does that change your perspective on Dr. King a little bit, him editing a comic book script in 1957? But that’s actually what they used to help inspire some of the earliest acts of civil disobedience in the movement.”

Aydin is a co-author of “Run,” the 2021 graphic novel and this year’s flagship Teen Read in the Poughkeepsie Public Library District’s annual Big Read, which is a sequel to the three-part series “March.” All four graphic novels were co-written by the late Congressman John Lewis and chronicled his life and role in the civil rights movement.

Andrew Aydin, the author of ‘Run’ encourages innovation, and perseverance.
Andrew Aydin, the author of ‘Run’ encourages innovation, and perseverance.

One hundred copies of “Run” were provided to Poughkeepsie students as part of the Big Read. Aydin on Monday did not discuss the book itself as much as he did broader topics relatable to most in the high school auditorium: growing up under challenging circumstances, overcoming hurdles and being future focused. The session concluded with a lively Q&A in which the students peppered Aydin with questions, such as:
How long did it take to write the books?
Which was your favorite?
Where did the John Lewis slogan “Good Trouble” come from?
Why is the book called “Run”?

Aydin said many people misunderstood the title of the “March” series as a reference to the March on Washington. “It’s actually an imperative, telling you to march,” he said. “But the idea is, first you march, then you run.

“What John Lewis came to realize when the ‘March’ trilogy was done, is that we need a country not just of activists, but of better public servants,” Aydin explained. “We need better people to run for office.”

Aydin, a Turkish-American raised by a single mother in the Atlanta area, is a graduate of Trinity College in Hartford and Georgetown University. Among a slew of awards, including multiple Coretta Scott King honors, Aydin for the “March” series won the National Book Award, the first comics work to be given the prize.

The author reminded the students, comic books for decades were regarded as a “trash medium,” noting he had teachers who had taken his away when he brought them to class. He, though, saw “they were stories about people who were doing the right thing because it was the right thing to do. It made me feel like there was hope in the world.”

“Martin Luther King and the Montgomery Story,” which Lewis told Aydin about, ended up serving as the inspiration for “March,” when Lewis was struggling to remind voters of what he did in the civil rights movement.

“They kept asking what have you done for me lately?” Aydin said. “Because they didn’t understand the civil rights movement. They didn’t understand actually how it worked, they got taught this CliffsNotes version.”

Aydin identified graphic novels as a tool through which history could be revived, in a medium that can visually bring the moments to life in a way textbooks or articles cannot. He said younger generations can more easily identify how mediums and tools can be used differently than they currently are, and encouraged the students to seek those opportunities as the world continues to rapidly change.

“I see myself in every one of you all. Because I know how hard this is,” he said. “And I think every one of you has the potential to do something even better than what I did.”
Najiah Davis, a junior, was among several students who approached Aydin afterward to talk and have her copy of “Run” signed.

“I like learning about the civil rights movement, and what led us to get our rights now. I took a class last year called Black Studies and we actually started learning about it, and I was like ‘This really happened,’” she said. “Meeting an author that wrote about this topic makes me really excited.”

The theme for this year’s Big Read is “Recognizing 60 Years of the Civil Rights Act.” In addition to Monday’s visit from Aydin, the library is hosting an Oct. 16 screening of the documentary “John Lewis: Good Trouble,” as well as various discussions on such topics as redlining in Poughkeepsie and the civil rights movement. This year’s Little Read for children includes “Fighting with Love: The Legacy of John Lewis,” by Lesa Cline-Ransome.