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Tracy Mumford

Rep. John Lewis' books sell out after Trump's tweets

The 'March' trilogy
The 'March' trilogy
Courtesy of publisher

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After a public confrontation between Rep. John Lewis and President-elect Donald Trump, Lewis' books are now at the top of the best-seller list on Amazon and have sold out at bookstores around the country.

Last week Lewis, a Democrat from Georgia and a prominent Civil Rights leader, said he did not consider Trump a "legitimate president." In an interview on "Meet the Press," Lewis said he believes Russians "participated in helping this man get elected," undermining the legitimacy of the election.

Trump responded with a series of tweets, criticizing Lewis as "All talk, talk, talk – no action or results." He referred to Lewis' district, which covers much of Atlanta and its suburbs, as "falling apart." (Politifact rated this claim as "Mostly False.")

Lewis, who is a contemporary of the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr., helped organize the 1963 March on Washington, during which King delivered his iconic "I Have a Dream" speech. Lewis also led marchers across the Edmund Pettus Bridge in Selma, Ala., in 1965. When state troopers confronted demonstrators at the end of the bridge, Lewis was struck with a baton and his skull was fractured. A photographer captured the beating.

State troopers swing clubs at a civil rights voting march in Selma, Ala.
State troopers swing billy clubs to break up a civil rights voting march in Selma, Ala., March 7, 1965. John Lewis, chairman of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (in the foreground) is being beaten by a state trooper. Lewis, a future U.S. Congressman sustained a fractured skull.
AP

His role in the Civil Rights movement is the subject of "March," a trilogy of graphic novels that is currently the No. 1 best-seller on Amazon and temporarily out of stock. After Trump's tweets, many people took to the social media platform to encourage supporters of Lewis to buy his books.

https://twitter.com/JESnowden/status/820402760772452352

His memoir, "Walking with the Wind," which is not a graphic novel, also rose dramatically in sales. Currently, it sits at No. 6 on Amazon's best-seller list.

In November, when the final book in the "March" trilogy won a National Book Award, Lewis gave an emotional speech about the role of books in his life. He recalled going to the public library in Alabama when he was 16 and being told the library was for whites only.

"And now to come here, and receive this award, this honor, it's too much," Lewis said.

March March