The library will be CLOSED Sunday, May 25 and Monday, May 26, 2025, in observance of Memorial Day.
As a continued precaution to prevent the spread of COVID-19, this book discussion will be held on Zoom. Digital copies of the book are available on Hoopla. Registration required. Instructions below.
[This book club meets every second Tuesday of the month at 7 pm]
Join us in conversation with local comic book creator Abdul Rashid as we discuss the graphic novel March: Book One by John Lewis.
"Book One spans John Lewis' youth in rural Alabama, his life-changing meeting with Martin Luther King, Jr., the birth of the Nashville Student Movement, and their battle to tear down segregation through nonviolent lunch counter sit-ins, building to a stunning climax on the steps of City Hall. Many years ago, John Lewis and other student activists drew inspiration from the 1958 comic book Martin Luther King and the Montgomery Story. Now, his own comics bring those days to life for a new audience, testifying to a movement whose echoes will be heard for generations."
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Abdul H. Rashid, a native of Flint, MI, is an illustrator, creator, and developer of intellectual properties in the genres of superhero, sci-fi, action-adventure and horror concepts. Having been a student of the Interlochen Arts Camp and thru self-taught regiment, he has worked to develop an incorporation of strong fine-arts skill set within his comic book visual story-telling. Also, utilizing the BA and MBA educational insight gained from the College of Wooster and University of Phoenix, respectively, to infuse strong sociopolitical narrative into layered story-arc content.
As CEO/Founder of AHR Visions, LLC, a trans-media pop-culture studio, he looks to inject a new catalog of fresh, diverse and exciting titles that reflect the very colorful society we live in everyday. Using comics as the primary platform to tell an array of stories, Rashid and AHRV are targeting all areas of media stages to present to an ever expansive target audience with a catalog that spotlights diverse characters and inclusive elements outside the industry's “traditional blueprint”, while holding true to the integrity of the genre.
Rashid’s work has been featured in a number of independent works as well as MARVEL distributed series. He is currently collaborating with an assortment of other incredibly talented studios and artists in New York, California and other locations on original creator-owned properties. Rashid is based in NE Ohio and looks to add to a generating Mid-West entertainment hub.
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In order to participate, please REGISTER to get an invitation to the online book discussion on Zoom. You can join using a Desktop, Laptop, Mobile Phone, Tablet, or Chromebook. While it is not necessary to sign up for a free Zoom account, for best results we recommend DOWNLOADING Zoom Meeting Room Client (for desktops and laptops) or the Zoom Cloud Meetings App (from your phone or tablet app store) before our discussion. Downloading should take a few minutes. Participants without a computer, tablet or smartphone can join the discussion using a traditional phone.
For those who are unable to get a physical copy of the book, please visit Hoopla Digital to sign up for an account using your WPPL library card. This will allow you to borrow and download March: Book One by John Lewis.
If you have any questions, please email: frances.brawner@westlakelibrary.org
This event is part of the One Community Reads: Racial Equity in America program. Your nine local library systems invite you to participate in Northeast Ohio’s largest book club, One Community Reads: Racial Equity in America, throughout August—December 2020. The program will allow readers to learn about and reflect on race, history, and a more just future locally and nationally. Please learn more and get involved at onecommunityreads.org.
Westlake Porter Public Library is an independent public library serving the residents of the city of Westlake, western Cuyahoga County and eastern Lorain County. The library is located at 27333 Center Ridge Road in Westlake, Ohio. Anyone who lives, works, owns property, or goes to school in Ohio can register for a free library card.
