WE THE PEOPLE IS ALL THE PEOPLE

The preamble to the U.S. Constitution undergoes a much-needed re-examination in Reeves and Tonatiuh’s patriotic proclamation redux.

“‘We the people’ is all the people.” Reeves broadens those initial, implicitly limited words crafted during the summer of 1787 to incorporate a more contemporary perspective. What follows is a lyrical catalogue of peoples from all walks of life, across race, religion, socioeconomic status, sexuality, occupation, and more, brought together for an inclusive coalition. People “who worship in / churches, / mosques, / and temples” stand alongside writers, readers, and thinkers. The contributions of teachers, firefighters, and health workers are celebrated along with the efforts of those who “build, clean, and repair.” Each line carves out another shade of meaning to the preamble, consciously widening the narrow representation of “we the people.” Reeves’ text provides readers with ample space and opportunity to leverage their imaginations as they interpret his brief descriptions. Tonatiuh’s sublime artwork favors sharp color contrasts and warm close-ups, including bodies of various skin colors, sizes, and abilities, set against stars and stripes backgrounds. One astonishing double-page spread even manages to convey the U.S.’s complicated history of migration in its portrayal of enslaved people, field workers, railroad workers, and travelers making their way across the open arms and braids of an Indigenous person.

Ingeniously profound in its acknowledgment that the U.S. truly is a land of differences.