BakerMcBride

“Why I Hate Abercrombie & Fitch” written by Dwight McBride talks about the astonishing advancement of corporations throughout society. The way photos and advertisements would help in the sales of certain clothing by portraying models who wear these products was a huge leap in the marketing department. Abercrombie and Fitch started as a clothing line mainly for homosexual men. When the author went to a club some years ago he noticed that almost every gay male was wearing this certain brand of clothing that he had never heard of before. The author discusses the history of the Abercrombie and Fitch and the way it came to be known in the fashion industry. The brand has been around even before Roosevelt outfitting the modern outdoorsmen. The brand slowly moved from David T. Abercrombie’s small shop in Manhattan into the large corporate giant we are familiar with today. Originally Abercrombie and Fitch were made for the common outdoorsman like Abercrombie himself. It has transformed over the years and has become the dress of mainly white, upper class males. The authors main quarrels with the brand are not as some may have thought the fact that Abercrombie and Fitch is so loose and shameless with the morals and the way of dress. The author does not actually disagree with how the photos and modeling show off the lack of clothing but the author does have a problem with who the brand is attempting to advertise to. Over the course of its history Abercrombie and Fitch has not been geared toward any real ethnic group. The brand also does more than set a certain trend but instills values on how the purchasers should actually act. There are rules that are supposedly supposed to be adhered to when wearing the clothing. Some such rules are rules about hairstyles and the jewelry ones can wear. Up until a few years ago the author speaks about all the models and photographs depicting only white people wearing and promoting this brand. The idea that Abercrombie and Fitch is made only for the white race is a corporate ideal and has only perpetuated itself throughout its life. Even now there are hardly any people of color wearing this clothing line and as such Abercrombie is looked at as a somewhat racist clothing line.
1) Has Abercrombie always been so expensive?
2) Who is in charge now?
My reaction to this article is not of surprise. I always thought of Abercrombie as a way to distinguish people if not by race but of just social class. The price of almost all of the clothing is made so that a very small percent of the population can afford to purchase the items thereby holding onto its constant high style and attitude.

QuizKindred

Kindred, the story of oppression and disillusion of the way our society is told to be free when in reality no one really desired freedom except African Americans. The government expresses real concern and desire for everyone to be free when speaking publicly in hopes of gaining all the free support they can but in private many of the political figures are still holding the ideas that there is a genetic difference between white and blacks. These beliefs make the way our society works very racial and unjust. With the ideas that blacks were not as good as whites and that they were genetically different and should be looked down upon just because of the color of their skin our society suffered major problems which have taken a long time to attempt to eradicate. One excerpt of Kindred was in the beginning when Dana, a black woman attempted to save a young white boy having trouble while in a lake. Dana jumped in to help the boy and was greeted on shore with a shotgun in her face pointed by the boys white father. This is not very surprising especially for the time period in which it took place. The whites in this generation were still very wary of the blacks and any help that they were receiving. Blacks were still not totally equal in just about anyone’s eyes. To the majority of the population blacks still had to obey a whole different set of rules when out in public because they were still thought of as second class citizens. This excerpt from Kindred relates to the video we have been watching in class about the major turning points in oppression of African Americans. Even though Dana was legally free there were still many ideas and people who believed that she and others like her did not deserve to be treated freely. At this time there were still rules in place, not just in the form of ideas but actual laws that guaranteed that blacks were still not as free as they were thought to have been. This ideas that blacks were still objects not worthy of the freedom given to them from white people was not limited to Dana in this story but Carrie who was a friend of Dana but a slave who was thought of as being mentally handicapped. Though she did have a somewhat of a disability she was not retarded. Jake Edwards was a hire hand to manage the “workers” over a farm which Luke had managed before. Jake would do he same job except instead of being somewhat courteous he would threaten whipping. This shows that Jake still thinks of blacks as just property and that whipping, beating and hanging are acceptable alternative ideas for punishment.

BakerMovie

The movie the “Eyes on the Prize” was a discussion about many of the strong civil rights movements that were beneficial in the equal treatment of African Americans. The first story which was told was about Emmett Till. This was a 14 year old boy who traveled to Mississippi with his cousin to stay with family. Upon his arrival he was hanging around with some of the local boys and was persuaded to talk to a white woman inside a general store. As Emmett walked out of the store he said “bye baby” to the white woman and headed home. Later that day the husband and brother in law of the lady arrived at Emmett’s uncle’s house where they took Emmet with them in their car. Emmett was found a few days later floating in the river. His mother was notified and a trial went underway. After much deliberation the jury of the two men’s peers released the men on all charges, even after hearing the testimony of Emmitt’s uncle against them. A few months later the two men gave an exclusive interview for 4,000$ to a reporter describing in detail what exactly happened and how they killed him. Another story in the video was about Rosa Parks. This woman who was a strong leader in the civil rights movement refused to move to the back of the bus when white passengers arrived and she was arrested. This sparked a large boycott for the black society for using public transportation. For months African Americans refused to use any form of public transportation in hopes of forcing the government to reform its ways. Eventually the government did change the law allowing blacks to sit wherever they desire. This was a great accomplishment and a huge leap in the equal treatment of African Americans. Another story that was discussed was the 9 African American students who entered Nashville’s newly integrated school system. The mayor though saying he desired integration was allowing mobs of whites to make this integration extremely difficult. Eventually Eisenhower sent in military forces to protect these students as they make there journey through the halls every day. This helped show the nation that America was no longer supporting segregation.
1) Why were people so set in their ways?
2) Why didn’t people see through Nashville’s mayor the second he changed his mind?
It is very disturbing to know that people went through so much just to be treated equally and shameful that people are so ridiculous in their belief systems.

BakerWright

The ethics of living Jim Crow is somewhat of a biography of an African American and his life starting from a very young age. The story was about the way in which blacks were completely treated separately from whites. Even though it may sometimes seem that equality was there is becomes extremely apparent that racism is still around. The author speaks about fighting in the streets with white kids when he was younger with his friends. He ended up being hit with a milk bottle and having his head split open. When his mother came home from work he expected to have his wounds nursed and a caring shoulder to cry on, what he received was his first lesson in the new age of racism. Whites are still able to do whatever they please and blacks should just be thankful of their mercy. His mother told him he was lucky that he had not been hurt more and the white kids had spared him, they had every right to completely beat him. His mother spanked him until he couldn’t take it anymore while reciting the teachings of Jim Crow, trying to impart on him the idea that whites were still in unequaled control. The next contact with white people was a long way down the road. He had moved from Arkansas to Mississippi where “a black boy who knows no trade can get a job” (23). He received a job where his boss appeared to be happy and desired to teach him a trade. When he first started the two white men he worked with seemed to like him and treated him very well. When he tried to ask for one of the men to teach him after being there for a while he was verbally attacked. He had not realized not to ask for things but to just be grateful to just be allowed to be there. After some other incidents he had left this place of work where he had caught up on his lessons of Jim Crow just continuing his education on “equality”. Throughout his story the author continues explaining his lessons on life with different stories which helped him understand the way things really worked instead of the way things should work.
1) Why did black people not fight with the law behind them?
2) Why did his mother not teach him the way things were and the way they should be instead of just telling him whites were right?

I was not surprised after reading this article. I knew that blacks were mistreated long after they were set free even though they were not supposed to.