Dear John Lewis,
In these final pages of the book you divide into what are some of the most me
morable events of the civil rights movement, such as, the horrific Bloody Sunday, the different attempts of the Selma to Montgomery march and finally the signing of the 1965 Voting Rights Act by Lyndon B. Johnson. Just like in the beginning of the book, Sheriff Wallace intervened and brutally beat many of the peaceful protestors. Eventually, the injunction was granted and the March to Montgomery was to be allowed! 
When reading these pages, I felt a mix of different emotions. At first I was angry that the segregation and treatment that black people and anyone who supported the civil rights movement were receiving in America and that it was even legal at the time.One of the moments in the book that made me feel content was how even when the protestors would get treated badly they would say they still felt love for those people and just wanted to spread love. I found that as such a positive way to deal with all the hatred going on towards them.
A question popped in mind while reading is what was your intention when inserting the pictures of Barack Obama in the middle of you getting ready for the march? In my opinion, that made the book feel rushed towards the end.
I think that ways to combat the racism in the world today is to not introduce racism to kids at such young ages. Kids see/hear their parents be racist and this is something that sticks with them as they grow up.
Overall, I loved reading your book, “MARCH”. I think that making it into a comic book was a good idea when talking about such a hard topic.
Sincerely,
Samantha Cabrera.
Context: As a student at Georgia State University I witness first hand the excessive amount of technology that students, professors, or even pedestrians walking the streets of downtown Atlanta use everyday. As Atlanta grows and becomes more modern and technologically advanced I get to see just how much people are reliant on the use of technology for everyday activities. As a Business major seeking a degree in Public Relations I am aware of the huge significance that the internet will have in my career field, however, when is the use of the internet/technology too much ?
A sea of students walk through the doors of Student Center East but their eyes never meet. As one person holds the door for another, the same pattern occurs.. A quick, “thank you” is exchanged and almost as if it’s been rehearsed by everyone, their eyes lock onto their phone screen immediately after. The view from the lobby inside of
A look at GSU’s Student Cener East, where this spatial analysis was conducted.
Student Center East consists of large long glass windows that let in the 9 a.m. sunlight and allows for a clear view of
Downtown Atlanta. The skyscrapers stand tall above while the streets are filled with in-raged drivers tapping their fingers rapidly on the steering wheel while having a staring competition with the traffic light, waiting for it to light up green. The pedestrians on the sidewalks are maneuvering around each other with airpods in their ears and phone in their hands trying to get either to school or to work.
Students speed walk across the busy streets and down the cracked sidewalks in a quick attempt to get out of the frosty, November morning air. An older lady is standing in front of her food stand with a sign that reads, “Buenos Dias cafe”.
Buenos Dias Cafe in Downtown Atlanta
As she tries to greet the passing individuals, her beaming smile soon goes away as she turns to take a seat instead due to not getting acknowledged by the people who have their minds somewhere else while looking down onto their phones. The people inside the lobby vary from students, professors and custodians. Every morning around this time the student center seems to be the busiest and even then not much interaction can be heard. While some students are sound asleep on the spacious chairs, others have their eyes locked on their phone screens so that the only thing managed to see is the top of their head. The room is so quiet one could hear a pin drop from the other side of the room. As two of the older custodian ladies sit down in the lobby this is the most chatter that has gone on all morning. Throughout the whole conversation between the ladies not one phone was brought out, they both had each other’s attention and their conversation went on as if nobody could hear them.
Soon, the people who were sitting in the lobby started to make their way out one by one. As the seats start to fill up again not much of a difference is made. The new people who have now taken the spots have secluded themselves into their own little space, free from outside communication. While most students were focused on getting their assignments typed and ready for the day, another student was so entertained by the new episode that he was watching on his ipad that when a club recruiter came to the lobby and announced that his club was meeting on the 2nd floor for anyone interested in stopping by, barely anyone looked up at him… not even with him mentioning the donuts that would be provided. The students in specific are so drawn to the screens of whatever technology they have that they seem to have blocked out the outside world and everybody that is in it. Within the hour of looking out to the lobby of Student Center East, little movement has been made. Although the space has gotten more filled up by many other students who have found an empty couch, still little conversation has gone on besides the custodians who now have had an older man engage into their conversation.
Outside the building the streets have settled down a bit. Not much traffic is accumulating and
A sunrise taken in Downtown Atlanta
the city doesn’t seem as busy. Still, however, every passing by pedestrian seemed to have their own personal preference of technology plugged in. Whether it be the students walking by with their stuffed backpacks and their airpods in or the lady in her formal business wear who has not only her iPhone in one hand but the Apple Watch to go with it as well and her Starbucks coffee in the other, every passing person seems to have one form or another of technology at their disposal which leads to less real life conversations and interaction happening around them because of the fact that everyone is so secluded into their own space.
The use of technology has made daily activities happen more efficiently but ultimately, the excessive use of technology and the internet has lead to many people being disconnected from reality. This can create barriers in communication and weaken problem solving skills. When should students start to worry about the amount of technology they use on the daily and when is it time to take a step back and reflect on the negative impacts that the obsession with technology is starting to have on college students especially.
Dear John Lewis,
In pages 100-173, you go into detail on many touching events that occurred in the process of
obtaining civil rights. Some of these events include the funeral of James Chaney, the testimony of Fannie Lou Hamer, the SNCCs visit to Africa and of course the blocking of the sidewalks outside the courthouse while trying to get registered to vote.
The funeral of James Chaney in particular was touching for me because of the speech that not only placed blame on who pulled the trigger but all of the people who refuse to take actions so more deaths don’t occur. As I read this part of the book I found myself connecting that speech with the black lives matter movement that is happening in today’s world. This is because I personally feel that if more people understood that there was actually a problem in the way that police officers use their power of authority and more regulations and consequences were placed on those that don’t follow the rules then less deaths due to police brutality would occur in todays world.
John Lewis intent when writing these pages of the book was to show how things got out of hand and started to go bad in the fight for civil rights but ultimately the people were persistent. This is shown in the many times that black citizens stood outside in the heat of the courthouse with no food, water or bathroom breaks to try and get registered for voting.
Today, I think that more attention is paid to protests and events where people come together to try and get a law changed. In today’s world I think it would be a little easier to get points across and get voices heard.
As I walked up the stairs leading to Langdale Hall I sat at my usual spot overlooking the construction. The first thing I noticed was the sound of the heavy old building hitting the concrete floor and the chatter of students trying to get into the building. I realized at this moment that these very sounds was what made a city so chaotic yet exciting. My spot outside of langdale is therapeutic to me. This is where I come whenever I need to wind down from a long day or just to pass the time between classes. The construction noises don’t bother me anymore, I’ve learned to block them out into the background. There’s so much going on in just this small space that it’s become one of my favorite spots on campus where I can just sit, put in my airpods and relax.I looked around and noticed how students were either rushing to their classes, typing away at their keyboards, or trying to meet up with friends. After all, it was a Friday afternoon, and we all wanted to ease out of the school setting. As people walked passed me I kept hearing the same phrase, “It’s so cold!” and indeed it was. I started to feel chilly as the day had been gloomy, I could feel my face starting to turn a bit red from the icy wind and I kept my hands in my pockets in attempts to keep them warm. I began to get flashbacks of when I was home cozying up in my bed and putting on my favorite movie. At this point I wondered and thought to myself where all the people struggling to have a home, go to find comfort.
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Going to school in downtown Atlanta it’s inevitable to see at the very least one homeless person laying on the sidewalk or under bridges. They never bother anyone for the most part, they just sit and stare and sometimes will ask for a few dollars. When the weather gets colder this is when they come to mind the most. Anytime I can, I like to give some spare cash out and hope that they use it to get themselves something beneficial for them. Maybe a meal or a blanket or something to keep them hydrated. However, “a few dollars” doesn’t last too long and they will still be out on the busy streets just watching as people pass by hoping someone feels generous enough to help them out. In my opinion the case would be different if they were given a chance to work for their earnings instead of them having to keep asking for spare change. As I sat on the cold seat in the lobby area outside of Langdale I couldn’t help but think maybe if the school had an organization dedicated to helping the homeless that are so close to our campus we could help make a difference. This help can include care packages, blankets during the winter time, making sure they’re being fed. Sitting in this space really helped open my mind up even more to the issue because as I look around I see the students in sweaters, boots, some have umbrellas in their bookbags side pouch. It made me feel like if we can make a difference to make people feel seen and that they matter then it’ll be a big step in the fight against homelessness in Atlanta. Maybe another idea we can do to open people’s mind on the subject is to let them know that we don’t know the reason that these people don’t have a home. Many homeless people are looked down upon and although it is an unfortunate situation, many of them haven’t been given the chance and opportunities to come up from this. Nobody really knows what put these people on the streets and since we don’t know that information we have no room to judge them.
Dear John Lewis,
In pages 25-80 of “MARCH” it goes more into detail on the events that took place after the bombing of the church in Birmingham. People started to protest in Selma and this was also the first time anyone had ever stood up to Sheriff Clark. The movemnet had started after protestors got arrested in Selma, the day after the bombing. After the arrests there was more pressure on trying to get equal voting rights. People lined up outside the courthouse while
you were still in jail to get registered for voting.
Unfortunately, despite the efforts the civilians made the registration process was made way more difficult for black people and the civilians stayed in line for hours in the beaming sun with no water. Pages 25-80 in the book demonstrate the struggles faced to try and get people ready for the “voting” going to take place.
While reading these pages in the book, I felt upset that people of color were faced with all these obstacles in order just to get their voices heard. As I was reading, something that crossed my mind 
was how can someone feel so much hate towards a race? What makes them feel so superior to treat other people like this.
In 2019 actions we can take to combat the issues presented in the book are to make sure that laws are actually being enforced. If we held EVERYONE accountable for their racist actions I think the situation would have gone differently. This is because during the time of the civil rights movement, even though it was illegal, people with authority were still beating and discriminating which gave the impression to other racist people that it was okay for them to treat black people like that aswell. In my opinion people felt entitled.
Sincerely, Samantha.
Dear John Lewis,
The beginning of the book, “MARCH” demonstrated to the reader the hardships and tragic events that were occurring during this time known as the Civil Rights Movement. In this part of the story it seems to be focusing more on equal voting rights. The book starts off with th
e bombing of the 16thstreet Baptist Church in Birmingham where 4 young girls were killed. This bombing was done as a way to send a “message” to the civil rights leaders because the church was the place where most meetings were held.
While reading these first few pages, I couldn’t help but feel disappointed in the way that black people were being treated and I was devastated at the events that took place in order to send a “message”. Although the events that were happening during this time were horrible I felt like this was the beginning of change because people were starting to come together to stand up for their rights. 
Questions I had while reading were who bombed the church?
The issues presented in the pages assigned was that black people didn’t have the same voting rights. I think this has a connection to today’s time because even though people ARE allowed to vote in this time and age, I feel like people still don’t and that’s really taking the right for granted because that is a way to get a point across. I feel like a way to combat this issue is to remind people that voting is a RIGHT that was not always available to all people so take advantage now that we have it
This was my evaluation to the first part of the book and I’m eager to keep on reading.
Sincerely, Samantha Cabrera
Having spanish as my first language, learning to read and write in english was something new to me but to my surprise it was something that I caught onto really quickly. The earliest experience with literacy, that I can remember anyway, would have to be in first grade. At the young age of 6 I remember the love I had for reading and the idea of diving into a new world. Although the books I was reading didn’t have too many words and were mostly just pictures, I remember envisioning the vivid pictures in my mind and really bringing the illustrations to life.
At this time, some of my favorite books included “The Very Hungry Caterpillar”, “If You Give a Mouse a Cookie” and of course “Magic Treehouse”. Of course as I got older the types of books I read evolved but something I always enjoyed about reading, especially at a younger age was that if the author did a good enough job in the sensory details, it was as if I could actually picture everything that was taking place in the story. For this reason, I always try my best to be as descriptive in any piece of writing I compose, or even when speaking because I remember the impact all the sensory details in the books I read had on me up until this age. I definitely believe that reading and writing are very important in any person’s career and overall in life.
Although now I often find myself not having the sufficient time to sit down and really jump into a good book, my first literacy experience was definitely a good memorable experience.
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