Hey radio stations, time to retire “Sweet Home Alabama”

Author’s photo of Bisa Butler’s “Four Little Girls, September 15, 1963” (2018-Cotton, silk, and lace; appliqued and quilted) recently on display as part of a larger show of Butler’s work at the Art Institute of Chicago.

“In Birmingham, they love the governor … Now we all did what we could do.”
- “Sweet Home Alabama”

Driving home, I was listening to a Boomer-era rock station, and the iconic guitar lick signaling the introduction of “Sweet Home Alabama” blared through the car speaker. It was the summer of 2020. Black Lives Matter protests were taking place across cities and towns in…