Issue link: http://maconmagazine.uberflip.com/i/1534028
12 maconmagazine.com | April/May 2025 G oing after it takes braver y. Are we born brave? W hile we may have a natural inclination toward the abilit y to do something, courage is built by our environment: people, our experiences, and yes, our stories. Erin Robinson Hall writes about this in her column on p. 110. "Stories teach us to be brave," she believes. Many of our editorial choices in this issue feel braver than before. We believe these women meet the moment . Empathy reigns supreme in solving our problems: from health equit y, Muscogee representation, and our upcoming family justice center to the Affordable Housing Fund, 478 Creatives, and Anissa Jones as a new lawmaker under the Gold Dome. Stories paired with trust guide us to something more. These daily seeds in our words – whether written, read, or even voiced in the rink — build the habit of courage as Queen B states in "Demons on W heels" on pg. 48. "Derby is uncomfortable, and I think in today's world, sometimes we don't push ourselves out of our comfort zone. Derby makes us do that ." Rolling with that discomfort , sometimes our vision becomes blurred. But many in these pages say it's mothers (whether from birth or chosen) who clear the view toward the future. The whispered aff irmations of Valerie Montgomer y Rice's mother in her daughters' ears before bed. Hester Bivins bringing her children, including Thelma Dillard, from Macon bus boycotts to the March on Washington. Ever y morning before they depart , my kids hear me say, "Be brave." And when I imagine going at it as a single mother, it makes my breath catch. Karen Bray's journey on pg. 40 may surprise some. She rejects respectabilit y, embracing "illegitimate" mothering. Believe her. Believe all of their stories. W hatever we are mothering, I am betting we will all f ind the way if we call on our legacy, as RaeLynn Butler does recalling her grandmother, Judith Ruth Kelly. She was an Indigenous boarding school sur vivor, made the best breakfast , and was a hardworking assistant nurse in pediatrics. W hen I called Dr. Montgomer y Rice to tell her she would be featured on our cover, she said she only wished her mother were alive to see it . Their stories live on in us. Editor's letter | APRIL/MAY 2025 Editor, Susannah C. Maddux @susannahcmaddux "If you can envision it, you should try to go after that." -RaeLynn Butler ABOVE Photographer Matt Odom and Managing Editor Julia Morrison go to Atlanta to capture the story of Dr. Mongomery Rice. RIGHT Susannah catches up with Erin Robinson Hall's daughter Tilly at Miller Middle School Career Day. BELOW Our all-woman team on a magazine launch party includes Autumn Van Gunten, left. W e w a n t t o k n o w y o u r s t o r y . J o i n t h e c o n v e r s a t i o n @ m a c o n m a g a z i n e o r e m a i l u s h e l l o @ m a c o n m a g a z i n e . c o m .