Earlier today I wrote a post on my Facebook page and in a couple of group forums that stirred up some serious feelings within people (I tend to do this about once a month).
Here's what I wrote:
The difference between white youth and black youth as it relates to "urban apparel" is that black youth treat it as a uniform and white youth treat it as a costume. The difference between THAT is you wear your uniform everywhere as it very much defines you, whereas a costume is automatically known NOT to be taken seriously and can & will be taken off when it's time to get down to business.
Here's what I wrote:
This set of a serious amount of responses - most of which were in disagreement with the statement. But here's the funny thing ... The sentiment underlying the disagreement was not about the statement being false. The opposing sentiment came from a place of denial. It came from a place where people not only don't want to acknowledge ugly truths, they believe deep in their hearts that if they ignore the existence of what it is they don't want to see, it will actually go away - or better yet cease to exist entirely.
In 1986 there was a movie made called "Soul Man." In this movie, C. Thomas Howell plays a rich white kid who gets cut off by his father right before he's about to go off to Harvard. So what he does is apply for a scholarship geared towards African American students, but he gets accepted because he lied on the application about his ethnicity. Upon realizing he's been accepted to Harvard, he also realizes that he has to "pass" for black, so he darkens his skin, dons a wig and thereafter becomes an instant "brotha." Throughout the movie he experiences racism on a variety of levels all the way up until he gets busted.
In a scene following his being "outed," he has a discussion with one of his professors played by the great James Earl Jones. Jones tells Howell that he has had a very unique experience that as a white man he was able to live in a black man's world, and now knew what it felt like to be a black man. Howell, having learned a valuable lesson in character replied, "No, I haven't because if I didn't like it - I could take it off." Howell's character learned the lesson that most people are trying to ignore in this so-called "post-racial era."
It is no secret that African Americans are the trendsetters of the world. We influence almost everything from fashion, sports, music, dance, and let's not even get started about all of the inventions that have been made by African Americans. But here's the thing ... And this is what those who are disagreeing with me are failing to see. There's a significant difference between living a lifestyle and emulating it.
When you're living a lifestyle - you're in it. When you're entire wardrobe consists of jeans, sweat shirts and gaudy jewelry, it is what it is - and for a great many inner-city youth, that's exactly what it is. I know a great many young African American men in their late teens, 20's and a couple in their early 30's, who don't know how to tie a necktie, or how to check their collars after they've put a jacket on so it doesn't look like someone just snatched them up, or how to properly shave or even polish a pair of leather shoes.
However, many of their white counterparts who have the same amount of "urban apparel" also have, sweaters, shirts, slacks, suits and shoes in their closets. Sure there are plenty of white kids who live in various subcultures like hip hop, emo, punk rock, and skateboarders, but the difference with them is that when they decide to get their acts together, they can take out the piercings, cover up or remove the tattoos, get a decent haircut and go into the "other side" of that closet. After doing that, they can easily slide themselves into the mainstream.
And that is what is meant by "urban apparel" being a "uniform" to some and a "costume" to others. Don't hate me if you don't like whichever side of the equation you're on. And if you're on neither side ...
Why you mad at all?!
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