Anson Stevens-Bollen
Cover, August 12: “Reading List”
So Cute
Seriously, who did this cover and how do I get it printed on a shirt, on my phone case, on my forehead? Ya’ll cute AF.
Angelica Reed
Editor’s note: Anson Stevens-Bollen, SFR’s art director extraordinaire, illustrated last week’s cover. Get a poster print of any SFR cover at sfreporter.com/shop.
A&C, July 21: “Me, Myself and Monuments”
Realize
Thank you for this article…I’m 36 years old and I’m a white male. I lived in Charleston during my early 20s before I relocated to New Mexico about 10 years ago…My upbringing in Virginia included glorification of the Confederacy, especially its military leaders, by family and friends. My upbringing also included avoidance and ignorance of the disparities and strife that could be traced back to the Civil War and beyond…Darryl Lorenzo Wellington put it well,” The symbols have a way of becoming bound up to one’s own sense of a past, or identity, even when one intellectually disapproves.”
After I moved to New Mexico, I was far removed from anyone else who was “bound up.” My new friends were Navajo, Hispanic, and Filipino. Some of them prodded me with particular questions, seemingly to find out how racist I actually was…When I first learned about the debate to remove statues of the conquistadors and the protests against the Fiestas, I chose no side. One reason was because I felt like I had no say, that I had no seat at the table. Also, I felt that some Hispanics might already see me as a threat and an intruder, and if I chose the moral side of the argument then I would appear racist and oppressive. But your article made me realize that we all have an obligation to act morally, and also recognize what kind of ideology is meaningful and inclusive in our communities.
Jayce Frye
