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Thanks for Alex P. Kellogg’s article about the sculptural superstar who got the commission for the Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Library (“Statutory Offense,” 1/25). I read the article to my husband, and he laughed out loud. You see, I have been through this process myself and know how the artist, Akili Ron Anderson, feels. I can tell you that the paper trail that white male artists have is because no one wants to make a decision. Who is going to say no to an artist who has already received so many commissions? He has to be good. It has to be wonderful. The path of white male artists is so well-paved that they have no idea what it like to be turned down for a teaching job, for a grant, or for a commission.
I applied for a grant at the Arlington County Commission for the Arts and was turned down. But they gave money to a 10-year-old white boy because they did not want to hurt his feelings.
Arlington, Va.