Anyone notice the black clothing craze among young blacks???????

[bigtree]

In my neighborhood most of the black youth are dressed head to toe in black. We had our own fashion thing when I was young with our bell bottoms, flares, patches , and raggedy cool. But, these kids look pretty menacing. And the music is slowly creeping back into that gangster/hood crap. I know about the phases of youth, and I hesitate to label these folks with any broad negative commentary, but I can't help but wish that the trend was less menacing.

Is it just "nothing much"? Or, is there something here that we should take notice of and be concerned about?

Here's an article that I read today about the rise of gangs:
Why street thugs are getting nastier

[applegrove]

1. Excuse me? You never noticed youth dressing in black? It comes &

goes - just like Shaggy Chic!

[Maple]

2. I wear black

all the time, and I'm nearly 60.

I wore it even before it became fashionable for tech types.

I see I shall soon be back in fashion again, only now as 'menacing'. :D

[Donailin]

33. same

been wearing black forever, I'm 42. Black shoes or sneakers, black shirts and jeans, usually blue. Maybe because it I was born in the sixties.

[pelagius]

3. The "all black" look is pretty much a fashion constant...

...that crops up in various sub-cultures with regularity.

[jdj]

4. "Mrs Bush will have her work cut out to save them."

she isn't going to do shit.

I'm afraid this is some orwellian profiling scam by this admin and they are just putting her face on it to make it seem harmless.

Gangs are just groups of males that are subordinate to the dominant male group. The worse the economy and the bleaker the future for minority and lower class men, the more gangs there will be.

So Laura, honey, if you really want to help, tell hubby to stop wrecking the economy and driving this country into the ground.

[MattG]

6. Black---It's the new black.

[Logansquare]

5. Well, where I live, wearing color can get you shot

The Maniac Latin Disciples in my neighborhood wear blue, and other gangs wear red. Kids who don't want to get capped wear either all white, all black, or pastels (girls, anyway). I'm sure it's a fashion thing too--Emenem was showing the black hoodie in one of his recent videos.

[bigtree]

23. this make sense

[anonymous44]

7. let them wear whatever them want

[Demian]

8. Doesn't everyone like black?

Wow - fairly unimpressive for my first post... *grumbles*

[JAbuchan08]

9. Well at least you get a Welcome to DU! on your very first eom.

n/t

[readmoreoften]

22. welcome! n/t

[Comicstripper]

51. Nice Username

I'm trying to finish "Siddharta" now...

[DrWeird]

10. Better make sure they stay off the lawn.

Better lock up your white daughters, too, if you have any.

[bigtree]

26. one of my sons is white

one is brown, like me

[kittykitty]

11. You are all too young to remember The Black Panthers?

They wore black, black leather (or vinyl) jackets(not bomber jackets), sunglasses and tams.

[bigtree]

43. Panthers

That was about black unity and black pride. Is that what this trend is about? That would be cool. Panthers sort of intimidated too. Their point, I thought was to whites: come into my neighborhood with guns and we will respond in kind with our guns. Necessary I suppose. We could debate this forever. The (white?)power structure was so freaked that they went to war on them with their overwhelming forces. There were frame-ups (Davis, Seale, etc.) I tend to think that nothing would have changed for blacks without that reactionary push from the Panthers. They were pretty together. Got under the nation's skin. Shook things up. Made folks recognize that blacks meant business, weren't going to be pushed around anymore. Kind of tragic in the end though for the core of the group. We all benefited, I think, from the strength that the Panthers projected. It didn't seem so safe to push blacks around anymore. I was born into the era that immediately followed some of the violent uprisings. D.C. was a smoldering mess of brick right after Dr. King was killed. It was chaos for everyone. Blacks there seemed to suffer the most from the violence. It was a fearful time for a young kid like me, although black myself. Knives, not guns, were the weapons of choice. Really tough times. Lots of robbery. Mostly blacks were the victims as well as the perps.

Is that the reason for the black wear today? Is this just a unifying expression set against some oppression. I could understand that. Somehow I have my doubts, although I could see some need and purpose in that. I wouldn't begrudge these kids their expressions of defiance anymore than I would the Panthers. I just want someone who is familiar with this generation to clue me in. I'm older than young and mostly out of touch with kids today. Mine are in their late '20's. I've been working with the establishment system for so long, maybe I've gotten old fashioned. Out of touch. I want to understand. I won't be hurt to be told that I'm off my rocker. I mostly want to know if this signals the rise of gangs in my neighborhood. I won't tolerate that. Not anymore than I would tolerate the proliferation of gang colors, red and blue, bloods and crips.

If it's black unity then these kids better clue folks in. It is intimidating, and I'm on the side of anyone who wants to live within the law and striving to lead a productive life here. I'm not going to tolerate intimidation though.

[kittykitty]

66. They fed 1000's of black kids breakfast & ran medical clinics. They were

altruistic, and were about protecting the black community from racism and police brutality. They were always getting hassled by the police and there were skirmishes involving shooting. Huey Newton got shot and was charged with manslaughter in the killing of a policeman.

Actually I now live in the "Alabama" of central PA between Phila. and Pittsburgh, and don't see any black youth dressed in black, so I don't now what, if anything, they are about. I did, however, live in Berkeley in the 1960's.

[tx_dem41]

12. Its odd that you reference an article about "street thugs" that never...

mentions blacks, but only "gangs". But you address your question specifically about blacks. Yep, verrrry odd, indeed.

[bigtree]

37. I'm sure there are whites who form gangs

Do they dress all in black? How about not putting this predjudice label on me and talk about these kids in my neighborhood who hang in these large groups and are responsible for the majority of violent crimes here? I just noticed the black clothes thing. I wondered if it was a gang thing. They are pretty intimidating. I'm sure most are harmless. Still creeps me out. Summer is a trip. These kids cuss folks who are on errands and really push it sometimes.

[bhairava]

56. YOU are labeling and prejudging

You are the one who has assigned menace and ill intentions to the fashion choices of young black folks. A tiresome and loathsome practice. You have not explained why it is any of your business or why you are not concerned with the sartorial choices of young Asians or whites who might also be "gang" members. Are the art school students downtown who also wear black menacing? Are priests and nuns scary? In any case, it must be great to decode the behaviour, motivation and mindset of whole groups of people based on YOUR prejudices and biases about their clothes, manners, social habits (I mean how dare they gather in large numbers), and skin colour. How dare they be....different and not ape your superior social graces (which apparently include demonising those who are different than you.) Will you be any safer after you have decided that surpise! wearing black or gathering in groups is an indicator of social anomie or gang relatedness or general badness (not that you ever gave them a chance)? Or might actually engaging these youths (abandoned in a wholesale manner by their fathers and grandfathers of an older generation, those older generations had their own pathologies: the past leads to the present) so as to provide an alternative structures of belonging and action and love. Or is your love too focused to ever include them...

[bigtree]

61. I'm asking, and trying not to judge

My local paper is laced with descriptions of black males dressed down in black who are committing violent crimes. I don't begrudge anyone a fashion choice. It may be just that. I said so in my post. All you chose to highlight is some glimmer of judgement on my part. I asked questions. I wanted to get some understanding of the trend. I do think we are seeing a rise in gang activity in my neighborhood. I do think it needs to be addressed and nipped if it is so. I wanted to know if there was a trend like the colors of the bloods and the crips that I am unaware of. I'm asking and getting nonsense about racism on my part. Nothing could be further from the truth. I have experienced a great deal of racism in my life. I understand what it means to be discriminated against. I understand how folks are stereotyped. I understand about expression and the freedom of expressiom I just want to know if this is a trend towards gang activity in my area that is characterized by the all black dress, like the colors of some gangs. Not unreasonable on my part, given the prevelance of perps of crime here that dress in this manner. I'd hate to think that that is what these kids are identifying with. I do think we need some dialouge with these kids here. Mine is not the only concern in my community, and I'm not talking about whites talking to other whites. Other black adults here are also concerned. I am concerned about the activities of other racial groups, but not here. There are no roaming bands of Asians or whites here. I have a right, and it makes more sense to limit my concern in this post to my experience in my neighborhood to the majority of black youth who I see here.

As for the gathering in groups, I have some understanding, but you are being a bit naive and less than honest about their intentions. Gangs are a reality around the country. I think they are becoming one here. You assume that I have a problem with all blacks in groups. Not in the least, and I think that you can stretch you understanding to accept that I can tell the difference between benign associations and menacing ones.Try to accept that I may be correct in my apprehensions, at least in my own neighborhood. I can accept that kids will dress according to peer influence, but if that dress has a violent base of influence than I think they have a responsiblility to help dispel that, as much as I have a responsibility to try to understand.

[porphyrian]

13. Oh my God! It's clothing segregation!

Or a fad. So?

[jaysunb]

14. Yo Tree !!

I'm Black, 60+ years old, and I wear as much black as possible....it makes me look slimmer.

Sounds to me as if you already have some preconceived notions about Black kids and Black people in general.

Me thinks you might want to take a close look at yourself and you prejudices in the mirror.

[bigtree]

25. I see a brown face when I look in the mirror

[Bucky]

29. Oh my god! There's a Negro on the other side of your mirror!

What color is his shirt?

[bigtree]

34. I wish someone would acknowledge that part of the culture is meant

to intimidate. I know that most of it is fashion, peer influence. Most of these kids have to be harmless. Just intimidating is all. Maybe I've gotten too old. Maybe I've seen too much senseless violence here.

[Name removed]

15. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[ultraist]

19. LMAO!!!

Poignant and witty!

Welcome! :hi:

[bigtree]

27. hah

I'm not some jackass. We have a lot of muggings in my area. The kids are the ones who are mostly involved. Old folks, women, other young folks are the victims.

[Name removed]

46. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[bigtree]

50. I know you think you're clever

I've not lived a sheltered life. I write in an uptight manner, I speak kinda straight too, but the slang, backward language that you are trying to bash me with is ignorant. Perhaps you can help me understand what I am seeing here in my neighborhood without putting me down. I've tried to express as much understanding as I can for these kids. I've acknowledged that I'm out of touch. Your condecending response only deepens the gulf of misunderstanding. Can you accept that folks have different backgrounds and different perspectives? I don't think that is racism. Prejudices don't have to manifest themselves in discrimination. Just misunderstanding. I'm asking for some insight. I want to understand.

[Name removed]

53. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[bigtree]

55. you're talking to someone who has experienced racism most of my life.

It is a fact in my neighborhood that most of the violent crime is committed by young black males. Among blacks nationwide, violence and crime against blacks is mostly committed by blacks. Most of the crime in my neighborhood is committed by black youth against other blacks.

I never used the language you're expressing here and I don't view other blacks in that way. I think your language is a throwback to a different era that would only allow blacks to be portrayed in this way in films and other media. I don't think anything I have said here deserves such a condescending response. I also don't think you have anything intelligent to say about my concerns.

[ultraist]

48. Oh come on...

No one called you a jackass but you must realize how that comment came off! Sure there are gangs, but black males get stereotyped.

What part of the country do you live in? Who is doing the muggings? Are they kids?

[bigtree]

54. yeah, kids mostly. outside of D.C.

I tried to express some understanding and some reservations about my fears in my post. Not enough it seems. Do you think these kids have any responsibility to make folks like me more comfortable with their prescence? I can be pretty intimidating. I'm tall, black, long hair. I smile, speak softly, polite. Not these kids. But, the black clothing, is it a trend towards gang activity. That is a legitimate concern. If it is hten we need to nip it here. Just like the colors. They were banned in schools here, the red and blue bandannas. I think the kids have a responsibility to portray themselves in a way that doesn't threaten others. I wouldn't tolerate some drift towards gang identification with my kids. I didn't allow the red or blue headgear, and I encouraged moderate dress, without stifling expression.

Here's something from my local crime blotter:

Two males armed with a gun stole a purse containing cash, etc. from two victims. The robbers are described as black males in their late teens, both about 6 feet tall with thin builds. Both wore black ski masks. Black jackets, and t-shirts and gloves.

Two males, one armed with a long barreled revolver robbed a pizza delivery man stealing his car keys and cell phone. The robbers are described as teenage black males, on about 6/3, other 5/10inches. Both wore black hoodie sweatshirts, black gloves, black clothes and black masks.

I could go back and get more from earlier posts.

[tishaLA]

45. Great post

welcome to DU

[bigtree]

58. condescending and stupid

I think. I could respond in kind. I'm not uptight. I've never treated anyone in that manner and I don't think it's fair. I'm trying to understand a trend in my area. I'm asking for some enlightenment. What I'm getting from some here is nothing but meanness. I don't think it deserves praise.

[tishaLA]

63. Funny, I thought so too

but about the original post, not the response.

[Stop_the_War]

16. Hmmm...your post is offensive......eom

[bigtree]

28. Sorry you're offended

You don't have to live where I do and make your way through the gauntlet of these kids, groups of 4-10 on the way to the store, work etc. They intend to intimidate, and, at least with this middle age man, they do. These groups jump folks out here regularly.

[Blue_Tires]

17. ibtl

[DrWeird]

20. what's that mean?

New one to me.

[Blue_Tires]

67. In Before The Lock

i thought this thread was headed to lockage

[LeftyMom]

18. I wear solid black all the time and nobody thinks it's menacing

probably because I'm a smallish white woman. :shrug:

People should be free to wear what they want.

I was offended by the racist subtext in your post. If you didn't intend for it to be there you may want to reexamine your feelings about young black people to see if some lingering bias lurks beneath the surface.

edit:typo

[bigtree]

38. They are responsible for most of the violent crime in my area

break ins, shootings. Should I ignore that? White kids to, but mostly black ones. I am black but I have refrained from violence all of my life. I do have a bias against anyone who would hang outside my neighborhood stores and corners and intimidate. I'll admit that these kids, in these large groups, do intimidate me. I hope they're harmless. I suspect that the majority are. I know that a good deal of them aren't.

[ultraist]

49. Do you have a neighborhood watch group?

We did in my old neighborhood. They can really help to drive out people who don't live in the area but are just hanging around to deal drugs and break into houses.

[Withywindle]

21. Anyone notice the black clothing craze among white kids...

...who listen to the Cure and Evanescence a lot?


:shrug:

Black isn't "menacing." It just saves you trouble worrying if your clothes match.


(800th post ought to be a good WTF?)

[bigtree]

30. Goth?

We don't have a big goth crowd here. I don't know whether those kids have the same habits of grouping together and the crime etc.

[KG]

24. black - it's the new black!

[bigtree]

31. seems to be so.

[bigtree]

32. took a lot of heat here

hope I made clear in my responses. I can be pretty menacing, with my long hair and all. In fact, we were pretty menacing, though harmless, when I was young. We weren't mugging in my neighborhood though. Kind of a get high, take it easy crowd.

[H2O Man]

35. Probably listening

to Johny Cash.

[bigtree]

39. I don't know much about his neighborhood

and you know this isn't to the point. Wasn't his black thing about his prison time? He might have intimidated me if I didn't know him as Cash. Hard to say.

[H2O Man]

41. Actually, it is

to the point, and you have hit it on the head -- it's about identity. For Cash, it was a statement about who he was. He made that statement both in his appearance and in his music. I'm sure that there were points in his life when Cash & his friends were indeed intimidating.

When large numbers of young people dress in a certain manner, it is obvious that it is a statement about identity. And, of course, it is reflected in both dress and music.

I'm from rural, upstate New York. The population is primarily white. Thus, the groups of youth that dress in black, and often dye their hair black, are generally a group that feels marginalized by society. They may look for some form of "power" in the occult. Their musical choices tend to fit into specific types that express unhappiness.

Every summer for the past decade or more, small groups of youth move up to this area, following the bus routes from NYC to Binghamton, then north towards Utica. They rent an apartment or motel room(s), and begin dealing. They usually wear some clothes which indicate membership in a gang. Each year, the local police arrest them for dealing cocaine/crack.

[bigtree]

47. I guess I can't make any broad generalizations

It's my neighborhood that has this trend and I have to make a judgement on the actions of these kids, less on their dress. Still, they are banded and roaming. Hopefully it isn't a trend toward any organized crime or violence. I don't know much about gangs today. I hope that isn't what I am seeing. I do think these kids will have to demonstrate some responsibility in their actions. So far, the atmosphere is less than reassuring. I think our community needs some dialouge between youth and adult. I'm not the only ignorant one among the adults here. It would be good to hear some commitment to civility and responsibility from the youth. And maybe a commitment of understanding from adults as well, although I don't think we are trying to intimidate them here.

Thanks for your insight.

[H2O Man]

59. It's strange for me

to find myself being one of "the older generation" now. There was a time when I believed in "don't trust anyone over 30." My how that has changed.

I share your concerns that a segment of the younger generation is taking on gang mentality. This can become "anti-social" and create serious problems in any neighborhood. The more that concerned adults try to increase communications within their own neighborhoods, the better.

[Bridget Burke]

36. That's not the style in Houston....

Oversized athletic outfits & doo-rags are a popular look among the young African-American guys.

Other looks include preppy, bohemian/ethnic (altho some of the African outfits are worn by Africans) & country (Western, not overalls).

[bigtree]

40. It's probably just a fashion trend here. It's kinda of new,

or maybe I just noticed. Makes my wife uncomfortable. I think that's their intention. Great, huh?

[ignatius 2]

42. I'm not black and I'm certainly not young, but I have worn black since

the selection of 2000 in mourning for my country.

[UdoKier]

44. Wouldn't surprise me...

The destruction of jobs under republicans causes more poverty and crime, the blatant looting of companies by the likes of Ken Lay promotes cynicism, and a "why shouldn't I do that too" attitude among people who won't get a slap on the wrist like a CEO.

Things were definitely better in minority communities under CLinton, when jobs were plentiful, plenty of cops were on the streets, and more off the worst offenders were behind bars.

The last surge in crime and gangs was in the late 80s -early 90s - direct result of Reagan-Bush's anti-poor, anti-minority policies - makes sense that it's happening again.


BTW - I wouldn't read too much into black clothing in general- it's always been a trendy color.

[bigtree]

52. thanks

It's like I just woke up and noticed the trend. It's unsettling to me, but I'm sure that if it's benign I'll get used to it. I think we need some community dialouge. Adults here, like me, need to foster it. Too bad that I've become such a fuddy duddy. I can change though.

[Runcible Spoon]

57. blacks in black= gangs! Yep lock up your daughters.....

oh lordy I can't believe I have posts deleted defending gays against bigots and xenophobes(in the recent Simpsons episode warning thread) but tripe like this is allowed to stay. Ughhhhhh...

[bigtree]

64. But that is not what my post says

I'm asking if this is a trend towards gang activity like the crips and blodds for example. I am respecting the possibility that it may be just fashion. It says so in my post. I'm asking and getting responses which question my integrity. It seems that you have no answer but to question my motives. Try reading my posts and respond to what I have to say, not to what you think I may mean in some dark recess of my psyche.

[bvar22]

60. I'll stop wearing BLACK...

...when they invent a darker color!
(Great line from a good recent movie, but I can't remember)

[DemoTex]

62. I wear all black most of the time.

I feel that it compliments my almost silver hair. Even my underwear is a black package. Like the Daily Show says: Black on Black. Louis Black.

[MrSlayer]

65. That has been standard gang or "revolutionary" attire since the 80's.

Nothing new about it.

[ContraBass Black]

68. Black goes with anything.

It also doesn't show dust or dirt as much as other colors.

It's a practical fasion.

[Moderator]

69. Locking

RSC