Civil Rights and Old Crone Clothes

Prompt No. 19: Black crewneck sweaters, Liz in Akron, CIA writers, UNISECON

Julian Bond with members of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee

Civil Rights Style

Tomorrow is Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, celebrating the birthday of the famed civil rights leader but very little of his actual work. In my African-American Studies class, we used to cynically joke that if we didn’t know the answer, just scribble Martin Luther King. All of Black American history and identity has been reduced to his name and iconography, after all. Would white teachers even know the answer was wrong if it was convincing enough? Unclear and off-topic.

To honor the holiday, I wanted to write a post on Civil Rights style. I wanted to explain how classic, prep, and workers’ style of dress have been utilized by the movement based on the intended audience; how vitally important presentation has been a part of literally humanizing Black life. But as I sat down to write, I recalled a piece in WWD and realized it said a great deal already. In the 2021 feature, “Dress and Protest: Fashion Hasn’t Been a Bystander in the Black Civil Rights Movement” Tara Donaldson breaks down the recent history of Black political style and presentation with writer and image activist Michaela Angela Davis. I could not have outlined the legacy better.