In our letter to you in Issue No. 11 of The Bitter Southerner magazine, Editorial Director Kyle Tibbs Jones looks to art,  storytelling, and other beacons of hope and resistance amid our country’s current political upheaval.

 
 
 

July 3, 2025

Photo by Tamara Reynolds

Dear Readers,

Welcome to Issue No. 11. 

If you’re a subscriber, thank you for being part of our crew. If you bought this issue in a bookstore somewhere, we’re really glad you’re here. No matter how you arrived on this page, know that in this deeply dire moment for our democracy, we are beyond grateful for your support. 

Because it’s rare these days, I’m kicking this letter off with some good news. 

We’re very happy to announce our new record label (BS Records) is here! For our first project, a double album, we’ve partnered with Democracy Forward, a heroic legal organization working tirelessly in our courts to protect our democracy, the rule of law, due process, and all the rest of our freedoms. The artist roster on this album (also called Democracy Forward) is jaw dropping, and all of these musicians believe the work of Democracy Forward is urgent. We agree. 

On Democracy Forward, in order of appearance: Michael Stipe, Sierra Ferrell, Wilco, Tyler Childers, Brandi Carlile, Hurray For The Riff Raff, Allison Russell, Brittany Howard (also our cover star in this issue!), Tunde Adebimpe, Kevin Morby, Waxahatchee, Fruit Bats, Jason Isbell, She Returns From War, John Prine, S.G. Goodman, Langhorne Slim, Blue Mountain, Danielle Ponder, Jim James, and Big Red Machine. A limited number of albums are being pressed, so please place your orders now. All proceeds go to Democracy Forward. 

Back to democracy itself: With a free press, freedom of speech, civil rights, and so many other fundamental freedoms under attack, we hope this issue will bring you escape, inspiration, and maybe even some joy. Inside these covers, we celebrate fine art, outsider art, musicians, photographers, designers, authors, and poets. “Brittany Howard Never Set Out to Be A Star” by Jewly Hight and “My 24 Guitars” by Elissa Altman are both lyrical and life affirming. Photographer Christy Bush sends us a dispatch (on fashion and photography) from the Mississippi Delta, and photographer Tamara Reynolds’ stunning Guggenheim images take us into a mysterious community deep in the mountains of Eastern Tennessee. Museum curator Katherine Jentleson chases a Nellie Mae Rowe acquisition clear across the country, and Katie Mitchell, who wrote a sensational book about Black bookstores, delivers an essay that is beautiful and fierce. Finally, please turn the page to read our “Letter From Home” by the great Silas House. Have a tissue ready. I sobbed. 

Right now on all of our screens, all day long, insanity is on a loop. Through the horrific illegal activity of this administration, so many lives are being upended. In her talk at the Santa Fe International Literary Festival in May, historian Heather Cox Richardson spoke to us about the “3.5 Rule,” a school of thought that claims only 3.5 percent of a country’s population has to engage in protest to overturn a regime. Simply put: A small minority can change the world. She said she believes we’re close.  

This summer, let’s prove Richardson right. 

See you in the streets, 

Kyle


Kyle Tibbs Jones
Co-Founder,
Editorial & Communications Director