Drawn to Justice: Graphic Novels and the Power of Social Action

Fight hate, make art, and build community with these graphic novels, based on true stories, that depict the importance of fighting for justice in whatever ways we can. For Eddie Ahn, author of Advocate, becoming an environmental justice lawyer for non-profits defies his Korean immigrant family’s notions of economic success but allows him to confront the most immediate issues the country is facing today, from the devastating effects of California wildfires to economic inequality, all while combating burnout and racial prejudice. Maria van Lieshout, inspired by documents written by her grandparents about their experiences during the Nazi occupation, created Song of a Blackbird, which follows a group of artists who helped pull off the greatest bank heist in European history to fund the Dutch Resistance. Also based on a family story, Josh Tuininga’s We Are Not Strangers follows a Jewish immigrant’s efforts to help his Japanese neighbors, whose lives were upended by Executive Order 9066 that authorized the incarceration of nearly all Japanese Americans during World War II. Timely and rousing, this panel portraying the value of a life of service and civic responsibility will be moderated by Breena Nuñez, a cartoonist and educator whose diary comics help BIPOC folks give themselves permission to express their personal stories through the language of comics.