Comic Genius

I was recently going through my African American History books and found that I had several comic book/ graphic novels written to teach Black History as well as entertain a variety of readers.  It was a connect-the-dots of sorts as I pulled the books out and remembered purchasing them because I grew up loving comic books.   I thought I'd share a few and you might add to the conversation  if you know of other comic books that teach African American history.
The first book is Martin Luther King and the Montgomery Story.  This book went to press in December of 1957 with more than 250,000 copies printed. It was circulated during the civil rights movement with the intent to educate readers on Gandhi's methods of nonviolence as well as acquainting readers with the origin story of Dr. Martin Luther King.  The book was released by an organization known as Fellowship of Reconciliation or ( FOR ).

*The NAACP released two of its own comics.  "The Street Where You Live," by cartoonist Tom Feelings and "Your Future Rests...in your Hands!"

  

   Other books in the collection include The Golden Legacy Illustrated History Series .  Bertram A. Fitzgerald is the publisher of the Golden Legacy series of Black History Comic Books.  During the decade between 1966 and 1976 he acted as editor and publisher for the series and wrote almost half the books.  

Patricia McKissack and Fredrick McKissack Jr. wrote an historical fiction graphic novel, "Best Shot in the West."  Born into slavery in 1854, Nat Love, grew up to become the most famous African-American cowboy in the Old West.  A contemporary and acquaintance of Bat Masterson and Billy the Kid, Nat was widely know as an expert roper and driver, and real Wild West character.  

Andrew Aydin, Nate Powell and Congressman John Lewis published the graphic novel  March: Book One in 2013.  This  is a first-hand account of Congressman Lewis'  ongoing struggle for Civil rights since the days of Jim Crow and segregation.  March:  Book Two was released January 21st of 2015.   

"The Harlem Hellfighters is a graphic novel written by author Max Brooks with illustrations done by Caanan White.  It is a fictionalized account of the experiences of the entirely African American 369th Infantry Regiment, nicknamed the "Harlem Hellfighters"  by German soldiers, during the First World War."  (written by Max Brooks)

My latest discovery is "Strange Fruit:  Uncelebrated Narratives from Black History words and pictures by Joel Christian Gill.  Strange Fruit, Volume I is a collection of nine stories from African American history whose stories are not often found in history books.
 Many of us who strive to live and present outside the boundaries of "Black History Month"  continue to encourage others to make American history a more inclusive history of ALL of us and integrate Black History throughout the year.  Mr. Gill created a Twitter Hash tag that invites folks to post about all the wonderful accomplishments of African Americans.  Read here about #28DaysAreNotEnough.

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