Visual Storytelling and Historical Memory. A Review of <em>Graphic Memories of the Civil Rights Movement: Reframing History in Comics</em>

This review explores Jorge Santos’ Graphic Memories of the Civil Rights Movement (University of Texas Press, 2019), which analyzes how graphic novels reframe cultural memory of the civil rights movement through visual storytelling. Santos critiques “consensus memory” for oversimplifying the movement, highlighting how comics offer counter-memory by presenting history as contested and multifaceted. The review delves into key examples, including March and Stuck Rubber Baby, emphasizing the role of visual media in disrupting linear narratives. Santos’ interdisciplinary approach enriches both comics and memory studies, urging readers to engage with diverse, ongoing struggles for social justice.