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As the state remains embroiled in a battle over immigration policy, the question emerges: What if you are against SB 1070, but in favor of Arizona’s economy? Makes things awkward.
Leave it to Kimber to find a solution. More than 700 Arizonans are expected to gather at the Heard Museum on Sunday, June 27, in a show of unity.
The event, organized by Stinkweeds owner Kimber Lanning, is designed to put hundreds of people shoulder-to-shoulder to spell out SOS CONGRESS. Everyone will be photographed from 12 stories above, and a series of portraits will also be taken.
Lanning stresses the event is not a protest in any way; the idea behind taking the photo is to show the rest of the nation that the immigration issue affects all of us, no matter which side of the issue we’re on. We recently talked with Lanning about the “SOS CONGRESS” event, the image of Arizona as a racist state, and how to respond to a boycott.
As a longtime resident and independent business owner in Arizona, how do you think the threat of a boycott affects us?
It’s not the threat of a boycott, it is a boycott…there’s millions in
lost revenue from tourism, lost revenue from businesses that decide not
to move here, lost revenue from students who decide not to study here.
We’re already slow to recover from the recession, and transportation’s
being cut, library funding’s being cut, everything’s being cut. When
people boycott us, that’s more money kept out of the state. We need to
keep our eye on the ball. If the entire ship – meaning the state – is
going down, we can’t stand on the deck slugging it out. We need to come
together and find ways to solve our problems.
How did the idea for SOS CONGRESS come about?
I had a friend who was in L.A. for a Suns versus Lakers game. She and
her husband starting chanting for the Suns, and everyone around them
yelled “Go home, racists.” I felt I had to do something. And another
thing that inspired this event was Chuck D from Public Enemy, when he
said, “Shame on everybody in Arizona who voted for this bill.” But we
never voted on SB 1070. That wasn’t a voter-approved bill. That’s the
kind of misinformation we have to fight. Every day that goes by that
nobody does anything is another day we’re viewed as racists. Part of
why I planned this is, as a state, I don’t believe we have more than
our fair share of extremists on either side. I believe we have more than
our fair share of people who are ambiguous. What I’m trying to say with
this photo is that this affects each and every one of us, and each one
of us needs to help fix it.
Who will be taking the photograph?
I have five different photographers lined up, because we’ll be doing
portraits with groups of three, too. I have five photographers, six
walkie-talkies, two videographers, and a bullhorn (laughs).
What do you plan to do with the photo?
The goal is to reach the national press, and to let our faces be seen.
We’re going to send it out to various media, and see how people react.
I expect it to be very powerful.
The SOS CONGRESS photo opportunity takes place Sunday, June 27, at 8
a.m. in the Heard Museum parking lot, 2301 N. Central Avenue. Visit www.soscongress.org for more information.
