Students all over campus have been seen sporting whatI like to call “cultured gear.” This is the gear that is tied to the cultureand history of black folks.
Shirts are worn featuring various African Americangreats like Bob Marley, Angela Davis, Martin Luther King and Malcolm X.
However, it has been my observation that manystudents are not wearing these clothes to pay homage to those that pave the wayfor us; rather they are wearing these clothes only as a fashion statement.
Even though the faces pictured on such clothes make astatement themselves I believe that there is another statement that is beingmade when we wear such shirts. We have no idea as to what these people andcolors represent.
I was shocked when I asked a young lady that had onan Angela Davis shirt “do you know who Angela Davis is?” She replied “she was alady that had something to do with the Black Power Movement and she did a lotfor Women’s Rights.” She added “I don’t really know any more than that, but shedidn’t believe in wearing bras.”
You could probably imagine the expression on my facewhen she added that last part. However, I didn’t question it. I just advisedthe young lady that she might need to know a little more about her history thanwhat she shared with me.
It is my impression that this young lady was notalone in her train of thought. I believe that there are many that have no ideaabout the history that they’re wearing on a daily basis.
Not only do people wear the shirt depicting thegreats of our history, but they wear the colors of the Motherland with noknowledge of the history- showing little respect to those that gave there livesin the struggle of our people.
What this does is blur the lines between what is partof our history and what things we trivialize by reducing them to a simplefashion trend.
Many wear dred locks and have no idea as to what theysymbolize.
The fact of the matter is that many brothers thatwear dred locks can’t spell Rastafarian much less understand what their ownhair represents.
It would be unreasonable to believe that everybrother with dreds was for the cause but it is not unreasonable to think thatthose that choose to rock this style know what their hair symbolizes and thehistory behind the lock.
The dread locks are one of the ways Rastas use toemphasize their identity. It is related to the Lions and inspired by the bible.
Many along with their dred locks wear the colorsrepresenting Africa and more specifically the colors of the Ethiopian flag-red,green and gold. These are the most poplar colors of Africa having been assignedas protea green, gold, red and black.
The protea green symbolizes the holistic integrationof forces that grows from the earth and is nurtured from above. The gold, whichclearly symbolizes its association with the sun and thehighest power. The red in terms of the Rastasfarian means the blood of thepeople and the black represents the blackness of the people.
However, sometimes the colors are worn in thecombination of the Back to Africa Movement.
In this case the colors are worn as just gold, blackand red. The gold then represents the richness of Africa’s people, the black isfor Africa’s people and the red represents the blood (life) of the people.These colors were adopted by an international assemblage of 25 countries of theAfrican diaspora, thereby making the colors international.
I believe that the when our people choose to wear thecolors and the faces of the great people of our history then they should atleast know the meaning and history of the faces and the colors that we wear.
So enlighten yourself with you own history before yourun out to become of a trivial fashion trend.
This is not to tell you what to think but rather whatto think about.
