by Dan Méndez Moore
Microcosm Publishing
6/13/2017, paperback
SKU: 9781621068006
The graphic narrative history of the 2001 Cincinnati riots, told for the first time from the perspective of the participants.
When Timothy Thomas, a 19-year-old black man, was fatally shot by police, the city broke out into nonviolent civil disobedience that was met with further police violence. This was the first major uprising of the 21st Century, matched only by the LA riots a decade before and the protests in Ferguson over a decade later. Author and illustrator Dan Méndez Moore was 17 at the time when he participated in the six days of protests that shook the city between Thomas's death and his funeral. Méndez Moore's comics-journalism account sensitively captures a fiery moment in U.S. history through interviews with protestors, community leaders, bystanders, and a frustrated looter. He portrays the tension of a city boiling over, political leaders taking advantage, and an inner-city community coming together. Six Days in Cincinnati is a nonfiction graphic novel that tells an all-American story of systemic racism and the power of popular movements, more relevant in our post-Ferguson era than ever before.
Reviews:
"Moore has something that many of the biggest names in comics unfortunately lack--life experience and something to say about it." --Seth Tobocman, Disaster and Resistance
"Moore reports some of the story from his direct observation, and the rest through a series of flashback interviews with others who were directly involved. Moore and the other narrators are unflinchingly honest, revealing their mistakes and regrets along with the passion for justice that motivated their actions." --Steve Palm-Houser, Examiner
About the Author:
Dan Méndez Moore was born and raised in Cincinnati and received his bachelor's degree in Urban Studies at Portland State University. He first got involved in social justice organizing during high school, when he founded the Cincinnati Radical Youth, and has never stopped. He currently works organizing low-wage workers at SEIU Local 26 in Minneapolis, MN. His comics have been published in Labor Notes and Cincinnati Street Vibes and he has a series of comics used as popular education tools for low-wage workers fighting for change.