March, Run, Vote: Graphic Storytelling And The Fight For Democracy

On April 30, 2026, the Supreme Court of the United States dismantled the Voting Rights Act, one of the defining pieces of legislation of the Civil Rights Movement in the United States. As many wonder what is next, the answer may lie in a surprising place: comics and graphic novels, a form which once inspired a key leader of the movement. Civil Rights leader and former Congressman, John Lewis was inspired in his youth by a comic book titled, "Martin Luther King and the Montgomery Story." This work taught him (and countless others across the globe) the tenants of non-violent resistance. With Andrew Aydin and Nate Powell, Lewis would return to the medium to share his story with the world in the three volumes of his graphic memoir, "March" (2013-2016), which would tell his story and that of the Civil Rights movement in graphic form. Like the early comics of the movement, Lewis' story not only documents history, but also offers a playbook for a post-Voting Rights era. Join Andrew Aydin and Nate Powell as they reflect on what makes comics especially significant in our age digital age redefined by generative AI. Can a hand-drawn medium once again be one the most revolutionary tools as well as inspiration and a manual in our march forward?