Mark Long (1) (1957–)

Every so often a book will come along that will challenge you, that will make you think, and that will hopefully leave you a bit better after you’ve read it. And this is just one such book. And yes some people are probably thinking that’s high praise for a graphic novel, but the story will give you chills within the first three pages and suck you in and not let you go until the very end of the story.

It’s 1968 in Houston, Texas and the fight for civil rights is heating up. Young Mark show more Long’s father, Jack Long, is the local TV station's race reporter and he’s embedded into the third ward, one of the poorest parts of the town. Jack is attempting to cover the events occurring in town, such as the expulsion of the the SNCC (student nonviolent coordinating committee) from Texas State University, and do justice to the people that he’s covering. He’s saved at one event by Larry Thompson, a local black leader, and the two become friends and their lives intertwine. One white family from a notoriously racist neighborhood in the burbs and one black family from the poorest ward in Houston, come together and find common ground in a conflict that threatens to tear the city apart. But before the end it may all come crashing down with the arrest of the TSU five. Which will be the loudest before the end, the words of hate or the silence of friends? This semi-autobiographical tale is based upon true events of Mark Long’s father.

One of the problem that I normally see with autobiographical stories, like this one, is that they often try to give the reader to much information about the story and invariably the reader gets lost or there are moment that leave us wondering why we’re supposed to care about the story. But this book...this book doesn’t have that issue. The authors have focused the story upon specific events of the race issues affecting the town in a given time period and give you enough information that you understand where the characters are coming from, but it never lets you wander away from what the focus of the story is. And more importantly you don’t ever feel like you’re missing out on something.

My favorite part of the storytelling though is how we get to see the story from two different perspectives--a white family from a racist neighborhood and a black family from one of poorest areas of Houston. Living in many ways on opposite sides of the world and yet we get to see the overlap and the differences between the two families clearly. And while that may sound like a cheesey way or stereotypical way of telling the story, Mark Long and Jim Demonakos tell the story in such a deft manner that you don’t really see it being told that way. You see the characters as real people. You get to understand a bit of what they went through, the troubles that each family faced for the actions they took and didn’t take, and that you want to know them in real life--just so that you could learn more from them. One last thought about the story--the title of the book comes from a quote by Martin Luther King Jr. "In the end, We will remember not the words of our enemies, but the silence of our friends.” And this book does justice to those words.

Nate Powell’s artwork is absolutely gorgeous. It’s done in his typical grace/style of capturing the human form oh so perfectly and it seems like this time he’s gone even further in his use of shading to give us the beauty of all different types of skin tones, each character’s is unqiue. His artwork is perfectly suited for this story capturing the range and intensity of emotions--the sorrow, the joy, and the fear that sends chills down your spine. That intensity, that feeling of life that he captures in their faces really makes them come alive. And the last pages of the books are some of the most powerful of the book. It seems like a rather basic layout of people walking in the street, with a closeup so that you can see the people’s skin tones--both black and white, and you can see their faces. But then he starts pulling back and all you can see are forms of people all different sizes, both genders, and all muted gray. No race and no color to divide them, just one people.

You can’t help but feel moved by this story and you can’t walk away unchanged. The combination of story and art works perfectly in capturing this event and this time period. I’m predicting this book will be one of the best graphic novels of the year, perhaps even one of the best books of the year.

A review copy of this book was provided by Gina at FirstSecond show less

"The Civil Rights Struggle Was Never Black and White"

Houston, Texas 1968

This is an important story, and a very personal story of the author's. In part, it is the story of the "TSU Five" and how a peaceful student protest erupted into unprovoked violence. It is beautifully drawn. But it isn't always clearly told. For example, I didn't know that one of the characters was blind for quite a while! And for me, the lack of clarity of the narrative took away from the importance of it. But it is show more important, and as a part of the history of the civil rights movement, it should be read - by all!

It also contains one of my all-time favorite quotes:

"In the end, we will remember not the words of our enemies, but the silence of our friends."

Amen, Dr. King. show less

Long, M & Demonakos, J. (2012). The silence of our friends. (Ill. by N. Powell). New York: First Second/Roaring Brook Press. 201 pp. ISBN: 978-1-59643-618-3. (Paperback); $16.99.

Maybe one day we will have a graphic novel about a white and black family in Texas that is NOT set during the Civil Rights movement. Maybe we will argue about who makes the best barbecue. However, the book we DO have IS set during the Civil Rights movement and it is an important story, especially for this graphic show more novel format that allows readers to see in ways that text alone does not do as effectively, that this struggle was an equal opportunity employer. Based on events from Long’s family history, this novel tells the story of a news reporter working for a television station owned by a racist. In covering the news of the day, such as the expulsion of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee from Texas State University, Jack is rescued by Larry Thompson and schooled in how he should conduct himself in poor black neighborhoods. They become friends but friendship is very problematic for Jack when it threatens his ability to keep his job. Friendship during this time period in this southern location, made simple acts such as sharing meals fraught with consequences that many, especially whites from segregated communities, find difficult to understand. Filming a confrontation between police and college students, a police officer is shot. Long is called to testify and his own film is being used by the prosecution to convict the students. Will Long stay silent when he knows that the officer was shot by another police officer? Will he speak up and risk his livelihood? The book concludes with the death of Martin Luther King and closes with King’s words, “In the end, we will remember not the words of our enemies, but the silence of our friends.” Unfortunately, we are still a long way away from the time in which Civil Rights books are not needed by students. Consequently, this book should find a good home, especially in middle schools across the country (do be warned that this novel does not sugarcoat the language). I hope it evokes discussion of what to do when our material comfort clashes with the fair and ethical treatment of others. I hope it also reminds students of the courage it took for both young and old alike to do what was right. show less

I liked the book a lot and loved the different perspectives you got to see in this Graphic Novel like the differences and the struggles between African Americans and Caucasians in Houston Texas in 1968.