CATALOG NO. B120-2024
American Progression

American Progression closed

American Progression title page

American Progression open to images

American Progression open to text

In Images and text, our artist book American Progression encapsulates the sources of deep fissures in this country: white supremacy, the legacy of slavery, the constant influx of immigrants. And yet, there is progression beyond the fear and hate that separate Americans, as many find community and joy together, and share hope for the future.

Specifications - Edition of 12
Book - 12.25” x 4.25” x .5” Book - 12 pages, end papers; double-sided accordion; Stonehenge Polar White
Covers - Pochoir on paper over board; in slipcase with mylar insert
Illustrations - Six panels; oil based inks over flood coats
Printing - Pochoir using 50 stencils; letterpress printed from polymer plates
Thomas Parker Williams - Concept, design, illustrations, pochior, printing, binding.
Mary Agnes Williams - Original text, text layout, printing

In 1950, 89.5% of Americans identified as white . . . By 2050, whites will be a minority (47%) . . . Many on the right bitterly resent losing privilege and power . . .

. . . They remember the easy days before civil rights . . . When an ordinary white man was always better and smarter . . . When the sheriff looked the other way . . .

. . . Desperate to hold on, they search for a leader who will raise them up again, a savior who will take control and lead them back to the white promised land.

For hundreds of years African slaves were submerged in American soil: endless brutality in endless fields of cotton, rice, tobacco, sugar cane . . . We shall rise . . .

. . . Unlike Africans, Latino families have been desperate to escape their homes for a better, safer place, risking everything to migrate north . . . We must walk . . .

. . . Poverty, injustice and hate are realities in America . . . Despite it all, people still find joy and see hope for the future . . . Black, brown, white . . . We can dance!