Last month, I spent a day at the Small Press Expo, the highlight of which was meeting Congressman John Lewis. The civil rights pioneer was there to promote the new graphic novel about his life, March.

On Sunday, September 15, at 1:00 p.m., I attended a panel about the planned trilogy, grabbing a front row seat and feeling pretty happy with myself. Here’s the official panel description:

SPX is proud to host the Honorable John Lewis, the U.S. Representative for Georgia’s 5th congressional district, to mark the publication of March, the first volume of a graphic novel trilogy documenting his life and work. A leader of the Civil Rights movement, Rep. Lewis was Chairman of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC), an architect and keynote speaker at the historic March on Washington in August 1963, and has been a member of Congress since 1986. Rep. Lewis will appear with co-writer Andrew Aydin and artist Nate Powell. In a discussion led by journalist Alex Dueben, the group will discuss the process and goals of this singular comics project.

Sadly, it turned out that I’d chosen the worst seat in the room, for whenever Lewis wasn’t leaning forward and speaking, his face ended up hidden behind the moderator’s open laptop. By the time I realized this, the room was packed and there was nowhere I could move.

So forgive me as you watch the video of the event, which I’ve finally been able to spare the bandwidth to upload. I think that whatever its flaws, you still be moved.