Creative Action Network - What Really Makes America Great

What Really Makes America Great text and compilation copyright 2018 by Creative Action Network, Inc. All illustrations copyright 2018 by the individual artists. All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission except in the case of reprints in the context of reviews.

Andrews McMeel Publishing

a division of Andrews McMeel Universal

1130 Walnut Street, Kansas City, Missouri 64106

www.andrewsmcmeel.com

www.creativeaction.network

ISBN: 978-1-5248-5029-6

Library of Congress Control Number: 2018946743

Editor: Jean Z. Lucas

Designer: Aaron Perry-Zucker

Art Director: Arnie Fenner

Production Manager: Tamara Haus

Production Editor: Dave Shaw

Digital Production: Kristen Minter

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One of the things that struck me as odd about this election... and maybe I just missed it... was nobody asked Donald Trump, What makes America great?

Jon Stewart, November 16, 2016

Contents

Art by Julia Yellow

foreword

What is GREAT? The word means (and signifies):... of ability, quality, or eminence considerably above the normal or average. In other words, great is a person, place, or thing that rises beyond the tritethat excels in the face of mediocrity and transcends the timeworn and the outworn. And the following preamble represents that very transcendence:... in order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common Defense, promote the General Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to Ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America.

To understand the greatness of America, it is not necessary to go further than the Constitution of the United States and the Bill of Rights. No other nation has this binding document. The exercise of these tenets and the essence of these words should be clear to everyone. America is great because its greatness is built into our collective faith in and practice of common values. As long as the blessings of liberty are respected, there can be no challenge to the democracy on which it stands.

Yet these fundamental blessings are currently being questioned. Nothing can be a more dangerous challenge than maintaining the power of the Constitution. These posters, which come from all over the nation, from many hearts and minds, layered with many sentiments, are not what will make American great again. Posters are just artifacts, and these posters will do little to ensure freedom and liberty if forces more powerful than their makers are seeking to take it away. But this artwork will remind everyone what greatness is and what it takes to keep it that way.

Steven Heller Art Director, Author, and Editor

New York, NY

Art by Elizabeth Beals

introduction

America is great.

And there is no shortage of reasons why. Thats why we were so struck by Jon Stewarts question right after the election: What makes America great? For all the rhetoric during the campaign, no one had answered what, specifically, makes America great, or how, exactly, well know when its great again.

So immediately after the election, we at Creative Action Network, a global community of artists and designers making art with purpose, posed that very question to our artists to see how they might illustrate Americas greatness.

Starting on Inauguration Day, our goal was to get 100 posters from 100 artists for the first 100 days of the new administration. But not surprisingly, there were far more than 100 artists with something to say, so we kept the campaign going beyond the first 100 days, and continue to receive new submissions as of this writing. The designs we received are as diverse in visual style and execution as they are in subject matter, and the artists behind them represent the incredible diversity and talent that make America great. To see the full collection of posters or contribute your own, visit www.creativeaction.network .

The collection of posters has been seen by millions online, hang on walls in homes nationwide, and are archived in the Library of Congress for future generations to learn about this time in our history. Proceeds from the sale of this book, as well as all the What Makes America Great posters and apparel available online, support Dream Corps, a social justice accelerator founded by Van Jones that advances economic, environmental, and criminal justice solutions. Their work is needed now more than ever.

From the beginning, America has been a collective effort to be greater, to be more perfect. We hope that these posters serve as a reminder of just how great we really are, and why. Thank you to all the artists who have contributed their time and talents to showcase the things that really make America great, and to all the activists, marchers, and community organizers who make it even greater every day.

Aaro n Perry-Zucker and Max Slavkin

Cofounders, Creative Action Network

San Francisco, California

Agriculture

by Jordan Johnson

Farming has been a massive part of the growth and sustenance of America since its birth, and it continues to be a very important and evolving industry. I grew up on a produce farm myself! Although I can say with authority that painting is a little easier than picking rocks out of a field or spreading straw, Ive met some of my favorite people and have learned some very important life skills thanks to my relationship with agriculture.

baseball

by Brandon Kish

Baseball is Americas pastime and brings us together as Americans every summer.

Belief in the Possibilities

by Jennifer Bloomer

I believe at its best this is a country of possibility. It is a country where creativity and innovation are valued. This piece was created as a hope and a prayer that that innovation and creativity will be used to come together, recognizing our differences as well as our common humanity.

Black History

by Nikkolas Smith

I wanted this piece to be a reminder of the exact location and people to which America owes arguably the largest debt of gratitude, in terms of how we rose to greatness. Black history in America largely stems from the transatlantic slave trade, and without the African architects, builders, inventors, agriculturalists, and many others who built this nation from the ground up, the world today may not know of America as a prominent country. Black history made America great.