2008 Woodie Awards
Pull up your pants
by Eris Zion Venia Dyson, Cleveland, Ohio
Issue date: 11/1/06 Section: Editorials & Viewpoints
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The other day, a friend of mine came to my dorm room just to chat while her laundry was drying. As we were chatting, two young freshmen came by. One of the boys wanted to "talk" to my friend (as in date). She asked him how old they were, and both of the boys replied 18. My friend and I both laughed hysterically because we are both 22 years old. After my friend left, the young men were still hanging around and one wanted to know how he could gain her interest.
The first thing I told him to do was to pull up his pants. He asked why, then said he liked saggin' his pants. I told him to come over to my computer and spell the word saggin'. Then I told him to write the word saggin' backwards.
S-A-G-G-I-N
N-I-G-G-A-S
I told him the origin of that look was from prison. The reason their pants looked like that was because they were not allowed to have belts because prisoners were likely to try to commit suicide. Also if their pants were saggin under their butts that meant the man was available for sex.
We as young black people have to be the ones to effect change. We are dying. The media have made a mockery of the black American. Even our brothers and sisters from Africa don't take us seriously. Something as
simple as pulling up your pants and standing with your head high could make the biggest difference in the world's perception of us. It is time to do right by ourselves. We need to love and embrace each other. No one is going to do it for us.
It all comes down to perception. What people perceive is reality to them. We have to change not only the media's perception of us, but we need to change our perception of ourselves. Remember all eyes are on you, Black Man. All eyes are on you Black Woman. All eyes are on you Black Child. People are waiting for us to mess up. We have not only the media, but the government and the world taint the pure essence of us. They have stripped our culture down to the point where we only believe we can become rappers and athletes. We are so much more.
The first thing I told him to do was to pull up his pants. He asked why, then said he liked saggin' his pants. I told him to come over to my computer and spell the word saggin'. Then I told him to write the word saggin' backwards.
S-A-G-G-I-N
N-I-G-G-A-S
I told him the origin of that look was from prison. The reason their pants looked like that was because they were not allowed to have belts because prisoners were likely to try to commit suicide. Also if their pants were saggin under their butts that meant the man was available for sex.
We as young black people have to be the ones to effect change. We are dying. The media have made a mockery of the black American. Even our brothers and sisters from Africa don't take us seriously. Something as
simple as pulling up your pants and standing with your head high could make the biggest difference in the world's perception of us. It is time to do right by ourselves. We need to love and embrace each other. No one is going to do it for us.
It all comes down to perception. What people perceive is reality to them. We have to change not only the media's perception of us, but we need to change our perception of ourselves. Remember all eyes are on you, Black Man. All eyes are on you Black Woman. All eyes are on you Black Child. People are waiting for us to mess up. We have not only the media, but the government and the world taint the pure essence of us. They have stripped our culture down to the point where we only believe we can become rappers and athletes. We are so much more.
Viewing Comments 1 - 1 of 1
Eris Zion Venia Dyson
posted 11/12/06 @ 8:01 AM CST
Thank you so much for putting my article in your newspaper this means a whole lot to me. I hope the student body there was receptive to the message.
Peace
~Eris
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