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These days, black people will try any and everything to avoid racism and white supremacy. We have negotiated, bargained, attempted to conform, done battle, and have lived in denial of its existence and impact on our daily lives. Because Black people as a whole are not a homogenous group, and process the abuse of racism differently, some have come to believe that changing the way you present yourself, particularly African American men, can blunt the impact of racism in our lives.
I learned about the theory of respectability politics in one form or another throughout my life. The belief that if you present yourself in a proper, intellectual, and “safe” way, this will not only protect you from the evils of racism, but it will make white America see you as a good, smart Black person. Not one of them ghetto hoods that everyone fears. The biggest part of respectability politics has been the clothes.
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In many discussions about fighting for equal rights and defeating racism, what you wear has always been of importance. Older Black people regale stories of Martin Luther King Jr. and SNCC looking prim and proper with their suits and fedora’s marching throughout the south, holding sit-ins, and demanding equal treatment.
A man who had lived during the Civil Rights movement would ask, “You see what they looked like? They looked good, presentable, like they mean business! The men didn’t have their pants hanging off their asses and big T-shirts, and hair looking crazy. They were clean cut, so the white man could take them seriously!” I remember conversations like these because they steered the way I acted and dressed in the world. I wanted the white man to look at me as an equal. So I would not dress thuggish. I wanted good service in a store or a restaurant, so I stopped buying pants two sizes too big. I wanted to be accepted.
I believe Respectability Politics is in its essence, a form of victim blaming. It is a weak-willed way of looking at life instead of identifying the real culprit, the number one reason why black men are viewed as dangerous: racism and white supremacy.
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As I began to study racism, I reflected on many past experiences. When I wore a suit, I was still harassed in supermarkets, ignored in department stores, looked at as a criminal by almost every white woman over 40, and pulled over excessively by police officers for a faulty tail light. I would later realize that was code for DWB (or Driving While Black). I got treated the same. The clothes didn’t make a damn bit of difference.
What practitioners of Respectability Politics don’t tell you is that there is no data that proves if a Black person is dressed professional, he or she will be treated any better than someone in a hoodie and basketball shorts. Also, Martin Luther King Jr. and many of the Civil Rights workers were attacked, brutalized, and killed while wearing suits. Going back even further, many pictures of Black people being lynched were also in dress shirts, slacks, and ties. This proves nicely dressed negroes were still hung.
I believe Respectability Politics is in its essence, a form of victim blaming. It is a weak-willed way of looking at life instead of identifying the real culprit, the number one reason why black men are viewed as dangerous: racism and white supremacy. The refusal to be honest within the society that we live in has caused us to look inward. “There has to be something wrong with what we are doing!! If we can’t change our skin, how about our wardrobe?? Pull them pants up! You don’t want them to be looking at you as a criminal!”
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In one of the saddest examples of Respectability Politics, Lawrence Otis Graham, a well-known lawyer and author, showed his children’s newest wardrobe. In a video clip, Graham highlighted the many dress pants and tennis sweaters he bought for his son. Graham said the reason for these recent purchases was to “make sure his sons didn’t end up like Trayvon Martin.” Rza of the Wu-Tang Clan has also subscribed to this theory, telling his son to “take off the hoodie and put on a blazer. Make them look at you differently.” Earlier this year, educator Steve Perry and comedian Steve Harvey held a “manhood bootcamp” with the US Army for young Black men, shaving off their dreadlocks and braids to make them “more employable.” The two Steve’s, along with Graham and Rza actually believe that clothes will save their sons from being profiled, a haircut will make them more acceptable, and a tie and jacket will stop them from being killed. What if the kid comes home bloodied and bruised while in a collared shirt and khakis? God forbid a young man is lying dead while in a suit. What will we say then? Will we turn our fingers pointing at us and turn them in the opposite direction, to the real problem?
We will have to realize that it is not the clothes that we wear that makes us a target, it is our skin.
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When I think about dressing and presenting oneself in a certain way to avoid mistreatment, I thought about the young lady who was gang raped in New Delhi, India. Many mothers and older women marched through the streets with signs saying “teach your daughters how to behave at night.” Women were telling other women to wear different clothes that would not make them susceptible to rape. Essentially saying to other women, “it is your fault for wearing revealing clothing.” I sat back and thought about this. Men are not being held accountable for their actions? Is this some kind of alternate universe where the blame is placed on the rape victim and not the rapist? I thought this was absolutely ridiculous then and my thoughts on the matter have not changed. That’s what Respectability Politics tells us – black people, it is your fault. If you just straighten your clothes, speak without Ebonics, act more white, and pull up your pants, you will be accepted. Then none of these killings would happen.
As I walk through downtown San Francisco in my sports coat, oxford shirt, slacks, and monk strap shoes, I am aware of who I am. I do not fool myself that these clothes make a huge impact in how I am viewed, nor do I make a conscious decision to change that perception. At some point, Black people will have to do away with the cowardly train of thought that is respectability politics. We will have to realize that it is not the clothes that we wear that makes us a target, it is our skin. A Black man is a Black man, whether he is in a business suit or prison jumpsuit, we are all viewed the same.
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Photo credit: Getty Images
When young men find out about the historical roots of sagging pants and the message it originally signaled in the context of slavery and prison, they tend to stop wearing them real quick. As I understand it, it originally signified that the wearer was available for anal sex.
Tired of these pages refreshing and losing what I wrote. “Respectability politics” and there as “respectful” So what you’re saying is that a black well dressed man has as much chance of being stopped the one who is dressed in sagging pants. Then you should send this article to the Wall Street Journal so as to warn the countless well dressed black professional black men. And the next time I meed with a black parent of a young man who is treatment ad they complain about how their son dresses, I’ll tell them to STFU. Broken tail light? I hate… Read more »
I dunno. I’m a trained fighter, and regardless of color, if I see a man walking down the street in a suit and tie, I have no concern. I see one strutting in hooded shirt, hanging pants, I have him peripherally focused every second. I’ve actually read here about boys doing so purposely so that people will fear them. There was an article by a white boy that almost got himself shot by doing so, and firing a pellet gun in the street. We can call it whatever we want, but my personal safety is not subject to agenda, or… Read more »
That’s a good point, DJ. I remember those days in upstate NY. The guys always in suits were the ones you watched out for. Most of them were white. The rest of the populace dressed decently, black or white. And they were all just normal people and that signified it. Everyone was comfortable by that. Of course there was real racism then. But in the neighborhoods you knew everyone and treated each other decently. There was actually at the time more outright discrimination among the the different white groups. The Polish, the Italians and Jews, Lithuanian, and chechoslovakians, and the… Read more »
As a black man myself, I find this article to be disgusting. It is not a moral vice to hold oneself up to look respectable, to follow the law and do the right thing.
This is low expectations taken to a pathetic extreme. You are not fighting the power when you dress like a thug or act like an idiot. You are just confirming every stereotype.
Well stated Adam.
I totally agree with you, Adam. But it doesn’t matter what color you are, I personally don’t care to see anyone with their pants hanging down, as if they were ready to fall off. That is not the way pants were meant to be worn. However, the way people dress has become an indicator of lifestyle in many cases, and that is why many people are cautious when around those in one style of dress; and not as cautious when around those in another – realizing, of course, there are always exceptions.
Spot on truthful and honest article!
Fantastic, truthful, spot on article!
Nice sentiment, but this is not just for blacks. And black culture. I see a white dude, flannel hat, no teeth, shuffling down the street. I think homeless at best. Potentially crazy. You’re really barking up the wrong tree here. We’re not saying you must look white. But anyone and everyone needs to look presentable to be taken seriously. I look at Justin better and see an immature snot. I see rioters in Baltimore and I see immature snots. You go into the Chicago slums, and you’re life span is about 5 minutes longer than mine. And this was said… Read more »