March: Book One

The Prologue shows John Lewis at the front of a line of protestors on Edmund Pettus Bridge. Protesters advance across the bridge and discuss whether they can swim. Meanwhile, armed law enforcement officers gather at the end of the bridge with gas masks and vicious-looking dogs. One officer shouts through a megaphone that the protesters are assembling unlawfully and that their protest on the bridge is impeding the safety of the public. One protester asks to speak to the major but is denied and told to return home or to church. The protesters decide they should pray, but the police officers advance toward them and attack using tear gas and clubs. Bystanders shout and direct racial slurs at the protesters.

The final images of this scene are dark and fade into wordless shadows. The illustrations reveal two hands of a protester grabbing at the road as he is dragged away, followed by only a frame of blackness. This section illustrates “Bloody Sunday,” a pivotal moment in the civil rights movement.