ISSUES #22: MAY 2016
What If They Wore Hoodies?
A LETTER FROM THE EDITOR
I was watching Jimi Hendrix perform “Hey Joe” on YouTube and somehow started thinking about how Black young men and kids have lost their lives at the hands of police and some overzealous civilians. I thought about how Trayvon Martin’s wearing a hoodie seemed to be central to his being pegged as “up to no good”, which led to his murder. I couldn’t help but think “Good thing Jimi Hendrix didn’t wear a hoodie!” Just think what the world would have missed out on. And what about Kobe Bryant? Michael Jackson? How about Lonnie Johnson (NASA nuclear engineer and inventor of the Super Soaker)? What about Maya Angelou out running errands in a hoodie and getting caught up? KRS-One, Quincy Jones, Charlie Parker, just to name a few. There are many contributions to society made by Black folks from humble beginnings or as troubled youth (ala James Brown). Just think if they too were struck down in their early years. That thought prompted me to write this editorial piece.
It’s crazy that something as simple or common as an article of clothing can change the national perception of a (Black) person while walking into a fast food restaurant in camouflage openly armed with an assault weapon is no big whoop.
Critical Thinker
Criminal?
James Edward Maceo West was born in 1931 in Prince Edward County, Virginia, and studied physics at Temple University. Specializing in microphones, West went on to author 200 patents and more than 60 technical and scientific publications. In 1962, with Gerhard Sessler, West developed the foil electret microphone, which became the industry standard. Approximately 90% of microphones in use today are based on this invention and almost all telephones utilize it, as well as tape recorders, camcorders, baby monitors and hearing aids. What if he wore a hoodie? Would he be a different person? What if he had gotten into trouble as a kid? Should he have been killed?
Below is a group of Harvard med students that are on their way to medical practice, research and more. Who knows what their stories are or were as young kids… but look where they are now. And (hide your purses!!) they’re wearing hoodies. No Photoshop required on this one. :-)
Akintunde Ahmad is another example of a young black man, this one from the streets of Oakland, who did not live up to ‘at-a-glance’ conclusions. With dreads, hoodies, and rap music in tow, 18-yr. old Akintunde graduated high school in 2014 with a 5.0 grade point average and earned 2100 on his SATs. In spite of all that, I bet he couldn’t walk into Saks Fifth Avenue without being followed. He probably couldn’t even walk into Target without being followed or monitored.
UPLIFTING
Orayne Williams was homeless and living in shelters and on the streets of New York. He struggled to remain in high school as he saw school as his “only way out” of his situation. He was able to maintain a 4.0 grade point average while living in and out of shelters. He managed to get advance college courses which set the stage for him to qualify for financial aid for college. He truly took his stumbling blocks and turned them into stepping stones. He should be a senior in Manhattanville College at this writing. He is also a Whitney M. Young, Jr. Memorial Scholar. He’s also founded a charityJust think if he were cut down because he wore a hoodie. Same person, same drive, just wearing a hoodie.
Read his story here:
UP TO NO GOOD?
James Brown was born into abject poverty. A quote from his biography “Brown later recalled his impoverished childhood: "I started shining shoes at 3 cents, then went up to 5 cents, then 6 cents. I never did get up to a dime. I was 9 years old before I got a pair of underwear from a real store; all my clothes were made from sacks and things like that. But I knew I had to make it. I had the determination to go on, and my determination was to be somebody." At age 16 James went to prison for car theft but overcame his beginnings to build one of the most popular music legacies in history. Just imagine if he was cut down before his greatness was realized.
Source - http://www.biography.com/people/james-brown-9228350#synopsis
For the fifth consecutive year, 100 percent of high school seniors from Urban Prep’s Englewood and West Campuses and the inaugural graduating class from its Bronzeville Campus—all African-American males—have been accepted to four-year colleges and universities. I’m almost positive there was a hoodie or two worn.
Hoodies have been a staple in the Black communities for years by virtue of sports figures and college athletes/students wearing them. It is a fashion alternative for teens of all races. Somehow it became a key factor for some in armchair identification of a criminal when the person wearing it is Black.
Clearly I’ve over simplified the issue in this piece but the message is consistent. Predisposed ideas about young Black men make fear and overreaction just a stone’s throw (or a gunshot) away when they are encountered. For the purposes of this article, hoodies is a metaphor for all things that gender prejudicial thinking, i.e. sagging jeans, cornrows, rap music, communication level, physical stature, education, skin color, etc. Some say don’t wear them if you don’t want to be judged. Others say don’t judge me if my personal actions haven’t given you cause.
But consider the number of lives that have been snuffed out by cops and civilians. We will never know what their futures could have been. Could they have graduated high school? Gone on to college? Contributed something positive to the world? Gotten married and had families?
Unfortunately, we will never know.
V. Ray
#positiveblack
#dontshoot
