On June 11, 2007, Delcambre Louisiana introduced the first ‘Pull Up Your Pants’ law in America to include a penalty of six months in jail or a $500.00 for weary pants sagging below the waist and revealing a person’s buttocks covered only by an undergarment (Koppel, 2007). This public indecency campaign, directed primarily at African American youth, continues to show intolerance and contempt for this social faction 's form of fashion and cultural expression of low-slung pants. However, Laurel’s city attorney Deidra Bassi of Laurel Mississippi’s 2015 Pull Up Your Pants campaign is concerned this could be perceived and challenged as a violation of civil rights (Howell, K. 2015). A good portion of young African Americans feel this law is racist, …show more content…
Young African American males are burdened with a significant disconnect between their enthusiastic display of adolescence and the intransigence of authority. Below the surface of the Pull Up Your Pants laws is the lack of hope the black youth feel about their future and place in American society. African American children were not yet born when their parents and grandparents did all the heavy lifting in the preliminary stages of social reform. Reform is slow to embrace today’s society and stories continue to surface of African American youth being subjected to harsh and sometimes unfair treatment. Stories such two Tennessee black teenagers arrested at Bolivar Central High School and jailed for 48 hours for indecent exposure because of their sagging pants (Deutschmann, 2015). In, 2008, then Senator Barak Obama had a unique point of view regarding the Pull Up Your Pants argument during an MTV interview, ‘The saggy pants law is a waste of time…having said that brothers should pull up their pants (Sirianni, 2012 P. 762). Obama went on to speak about wanting to see African American males presented in a respectable manner. There is push back from the confrontational versus conciliatory points of view comes from the African American music industry influence over black youth and promoting Baggy/Saggy Pants as a major social statement. America’s apparently are unwilling to accept the uniqueness of African American street culture and are clearly without viable alternatives to offer these young
In his essay “Black Men and Public Space,” Brent Staples discusses his personal experiences of being an African American male, while coming to the realization of the harsh realities of the stereotypes it carries. Through his anger and frustration, he learned to alter himself in public spaces by making others around him feel less threatened. Not always would it work, such as the occasional double glances he’d get from the person in front of him or a click when walking past someone in their car. Seeing first-hand the effects of being an African American male made me think twice about how they had to present themselves in public due to the decade long stereotypes that the color of someone’s skin can carry. Seeing this happen through my eyes made
Brent Staples was one of nine African American children born into the Staples family in Chester, Pennsylvania. He and his family were witnesses to Chester becoming victim to the slums after the city closed some of it’s major industries. As a former reporter for the Chicago Sun-Times, he worked his way up a few positions to the assistant metropolitan editor of The New York Times Book Review. In 1994, he published his memoir, Parallel Time: Growing Up in Black and White. One of his most moving pieces is his essay on the stereotypical views of the average African American Male entitled, “Black Men and Public Space.” It was first published in Harper’s Magazine in 1986. This essay shows not only the average African American male’s thoughts while simply walking down the street at night, but he somewhat explains that he also understands what is going through the mind of the average white by passers as they are forced to cross each other’s paths in the dead of night.
In Brent Staples’ "Just Walk on By: Black Men and Public Space," Staples describes the issues, stereotypes, and criticisms he faces being a black man in public surroundings. Staples initiates his perspective by introducing the audience in to thinking he is committing a crime, but eventually reveals how the actions taken towards him are because of the fear linked to his labelled stereotypes of being rapists, gangsters and muggers. Staples continues to unfold the audience from a 20 year old experience and sheds light onto how regardless of proving his survival compared to the other stereotypical blacks with his education levels and work ethics being in the modern era, he is still in the same plight. Although Staples relates such burdens through his personal experiences rather than directly revealing the psychological impacts such actions have upon African Americans with research, he effectively uses emotion to explain the social effects and challenges they have faced to avoid causing a ruckus with the “white American” world while keeping his reference up to date and accordingly to his history.
Sinopole, Angelica M. "No Saggy Pants: A Review of the First Amendment Issues Presented by the State's Regulation of Fashion in Public Streets." Penn St. L. Rev. 113 (2008): 329.
There are many, many forces — physical, historical, cultural, and political — that shape and constrict the life chances of black males in the U.S. Some of these are longstanding legacies that may take generations to shift. But in other ways, the social, economic, and symbolic place of African-American men and boys is recreated and reinforced every day. In particular, public perceptions and attitudes toward black males not only help to create barriers to advancement within this society, but also make that position seem natural or inevitable. Among the most important mechanisms for maintaining (or changing) these perceptions are the mass media with their significant power to shape popular ideas and attitudes.
Society is filled with prejudices often based on first impressions which are skewed by personal thoughts First impressions play a large role in how we view and judge people before we even know them. However, as people silently judge others most do not consider the impact it has on those who are judged. Both “Black Men and Public Spaces” by Brent Staples and “The Struggle” by Issa Rae exemplify the prejudices they experience as African-Americans and the misplaced expectations society places on them. The authors point of view greatly impacts the details and tone of the story. Through explicit details and clear tone, the author is able to portray their perspective and point of view.
In The Venus Hip Hop and the Pink Ghetto, Imani Perry argues that the over-sexualized, unattainable bodies of black women in popular culture will lead to the breakdown of feminism and the positive body image of the everyday black women. As hip hop music continues to become more popular, the sexist messages presented in lyrics and music videos are becoming more common to the everyday public, including young black girls developing a self-image. Instead of these girls being exposed to healthy, positive role models who encourage individuality and that there is more to a woman than her body they are given hip hop video models whose only purpose is to look sensual on screen. The strong women that do exist in the hip hop genre are pushed to sexualize themselves or their lyrics to sell records or stay relatively unknown. Although Perry’s arguments are logical, I believe that she is creating a slippery slope of logic. A genre of music cannot destroy the self-image of black women that has existed for generations.
The article discusses the fact that hip hop “provides a lens [through which white students and faculty at institutions] interpret Black culture” and that because of this not only is the Black female’s view of herself being manipulated, but black males expect what is being promoted by hip hop culture from them, and so does every other person (Henry, West, & Jackson 238). A professor at North Carolina Central University spoke about how he dislikes how hip-hop has influenced the way his students dress, he said “ They look like hoochie mamas, not like they’re coming to class” (as cited in Evelyn
However, laws that are of general applicability must too be scrutinized to determine whether they are least restrictive as possible and whether the state has a compelling interest. South Fork Consolidated School District has seen a spike in gang related crimes in their schools, so in order to curb this violence they implemented a dress code policy to stop gang affiliated students from flaunting their colors and harming “guilty” students who did nothing but wear clothing that led to attacks from gang members. While the state does have a compelling interest in preventing gang violence and insuring student safety, this law is not indeed narrowly tailored to this issue. An across the board dress code policy inadvertently hurts students who wear certain articles of clothing in compliance with their faith. South Fork Consolidated School District failed to recognize that allowing exemptions for religious purposes would not compromise the state’s interest in discouraging gang activity.
Life is full of distractions and, for high school students, inappropriate clothing has the potential to grab much attention. However, does the matter of clothing warrant strict rules? I agree that, like alcohol, the students’ attire should have rules regarding whether or not the choices in clothing are suitable for a public school setting. I also agree that violators of school rules should receive punishment for their lack of compliance to the school policies. However, there is a fine line. Some schools, like Carroll High School, are taking dress codes too far. One rule in particular hinders the students’ ability to wear pants with holes in them. It makes sense that holes located in certain places might cause a...
As hip hop culture became prevalent in pop culture, so did black culture. Hip hop stems from black struggle. Their vernacular, songs, and spiritual ways were different from what whites were used to. Their different lifestyle of “living on the edge” was intriguing yet inaccessible for the whites living among them. Thus, this initiated America’s fascination with the culture. It became about what people assume and perceive about black people rather than what they actually are. In essence, an essential to cool is being on the outside, looking in. In the media and celebrities today,
To conclude, the stereotypes that circulate in American society of young black men make it difficult for them to thrive and live peacefully in our society. These stereotypes cause issues in the business world, encounters with law enforcement and even everyday in the general public. It is unfair that young black men are only seen as statistics or stereotypes by the majority due to skin pigmentation. But as a whole, young black males suffer the consequences of the few imbeciles that play into these stereotypes. Though unfortunate and unfair but it is the duty of young black men to shift these negatives to positives. As well as, not play into these stereotypes and overcome.
Kelley, Robin. “Looking to Get Paid: How Some Black Youth Put Culture to Work.” Yo’ Mama’s Disfunktional!: Fighting the Culture Wars in Urban America. Boston: Beacon Press, 1998. 43-77. Print.
In this narrative essay, Brent Staples provides a personal account of his experiences as a black man in modern society. “Black Men and Public Space” acts as a journey for the readers to follow as Staples discovers the many societal biases against him, simply because of his skin color. The essay begins when Staples was twenty-two years old, walking the streets of Chicago late in the evening, and a woman responds to his presence with fear. Being a larger black man, he learned that he would be stereotyped by others around him as a “mugger, rapist, or worse” (135).
17 Apr. 2014. The 'Standard' of the 'Standard'. Hicks, Jeffrey. A. How Hip-Hop Destroys the Potential of Black Youth.