Throughout this month, I've watched several "old-school" movies (e.g. Cooley High, The Mack, etc.) that reflected life for African-Americans back in the day. In the midst of the Civil Rights Movement and other moments in history, one thing stood out to me: how we as a people dressed.
I looked at old pictures of my mother and some of our other family members from the 1950s and 1960s. It amazed me how teenagers AND adults took such pride in their appearance. From the hairstyles to the color-coordinated and tailored clothing to the shoes, we were stunning! At a time when we couldn't vote and our predecessors marched for miles to demonstrate for equality, they walked for miles in style because they possessed an inner pride within themselves. Even though they knew what faced them (the threat of being beaten, attacked by dogs, sprayed by water hoses, thrown in jail or even killed), they were dressed for success and nothing less. They wanted to be taken seriously. Unfortunately, I can't say the same for many of the people in our community today (especially the youngsters)...
I think American Idol Larry Platt said it best in his song "Pants on the Ground". Words can't describe how much I much detest seeing young (and older) men with their pants hanging off their behinds and revealing their underwear with the blinding glare of gold from their "grills". But, it's not just the fellas! Who told these young women wearing these tight jeans (that reveal their behinds), tops that show their goodies and multi-colored weave is cute?
Call me bougie (derived from bourgeois) if you must, but I feel we need to take back our pride in ourselves, which equals pride in our community. What has happened in the last few decades (a generation basically) where people don't care how they look? The younger generations don't necessarily have many role models to look up to, especially those who grow up around this lifestyle. Unfortunately, people are judged by their outer appearance. The old saying "your first impression should be your best impression" isn't too far-fetched...
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Iya,
ReplyDeleteI could not agree more.
Funny you should write about this subject.
Yesterday, my wife and I were running errands and what we saw, well, let me say that I should have taken a picture.
A young man exited the passenger side of an automobile, his pants hanging off his behind. Seconds later, a man who appeared to be the boy's father got out of the car, his pants also drooping.
We were speechless.
Wow, that's the exact point I was making in this post--that's creepy! Who do these young men (and women) have to look up to?
ReplyDeleteSuddenly, our Civil Rights leaders are not "cool" anymore. But, what about our President? We actually have someone in a high position (such as the President of our country) who looks like us. We therefore, no longer have an excuse. Let me get off my soap box (I think this may have sparked other blog post idea, perhaps my next one)...
I hate to complain about what's wrong in our community, but I get so frustrated about things like this. But I suppose the purepose of my blig is to shed light on topics in our community and how I see them through my eyes, whether they are positive or negative.
I do have more positive things to say about our people, which I will continue to write about. I also realize sometimes it's easier to be negative than positive (which is the opposite of how I operate). But let's face it, our community has changed since back in the day, and we need to get it together! :)