I received to my work inbox this morning a poem I've been sent five or six times in as many years. Perhaps you'll recognize it; it's several stanzas long and begins:
You are in love with Tommy,
Because his last name is Hilfiger,
But behind closed doors, Tommy,
Is calling you a n*gger,
The rest is under here.
But you could care less,
Because you have been taught to dress to impress,
If I ask you about your true history,
You would have to look on the back of your jeans and Guess,You come up in the club wearing Versace Clothes made by a homosexual male,
So even when you say you are straight,
It is very hard to tell,
And for footwear, you wear Timberlands,Even under the sun,
That same tree that's the symbol for them, Could have been the same one your ancestors were hung from,I cannot forget Nautica,
When was the last memory you have of ships,
Coming to North America in shackles,
Being beaten over the back with whips,And to my beautiful black queens,
Whose creative womb has become barren,
I am confused because your face says Nefertiti,
But your sweater reads Donna Karen,When was the last time you saw Liz Claiborne,
Conversing with black women,
But as soon as her name is printed on a purse,
To Macy's you quickly go, running,Ralph Lauren doesn't even look at black men,
Unless they are driving him around town,
But as soon as that slave master appears on the back of a horse,
You put whatever you have picked up down,My people reclaim your status in this world and in your life,
F.U.B.U. in case you didn't know, stands for (For Us By Us),
Buying black will someday suffice,
Do you know who owns Timberland fashion?Well, Timberland is owned by the president of the KKK,
Surprised? Don't be.
Read more books black people,
Always hope for the best and prepare for the worst,
You may not get what you pay for,
But you'll surely pay for what you get.
For once and for all, not only is this poem full of lies – the KKK does not own Timberland and Tommy Hilfiger probably isn't behind closed doors calling you a nigger – Maya Angelou, the author to whom the work is generally attributed, is so ashamed to have her name associated with it she's taken to her Web site to distance herself from the piece. Nobody really knows the poem's origins, but whoever wrote it created something very bad and very famous. Fin. Can we be done with this now?
Also, the reason you shouldn't wear Versace is because the clothing is loud and ugly, not because the company was founded by a gay man.
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The ignorance, I can defend a few of the designers he/she mentioned here.
When was the last time you saw Liz Claiborne,
Conversing with black women.
When was the last time taht any of us seen Liz Claiborne. I think she passed away some time ago.
Ralph Lauren doesn’t even look at black men
Well, he looked at Tyson since he was his campaign model for a number of years. He paid that brother a 7 figure contract. Not to many male models make that type of money from contracts.
Tommy Hillfiger also uses blk models on the runway and in his ads.
For the rest I would say please please look at their runway shows and advertisements. If they don't use blk models don't spend your dollars with them.
Spend your money with blk designers like Tracey Reese and other blk lines.
I think the only true thing in this is the Hilfiger one.
And how does wearing clothing from a company founded by a gay dude make you gay? and why is that bad?
Should I only wear FUBU because I'm "black"?
This is silly
Actually, the Hilfiger one isn't true either.
Although it may be full of lies the message should still be put into practice : SUPPORT YOUR OWN before you support these rich white folks. That's not racist at all, just doing your part to support your community.
cosign on Versace. Loud and ugly all the way.
Forwarded emails highlight the laziness of people. And our willingness to believe just about anything we read in print.
Should I wear Baby phat, Deron, Apple Bottoms and Roca wear because its ugly.
This is dumb and honestly, my intelligence feels insulted.
By the way, I mostly wear Abercrombie and Fitch.
How would anyone with a brain attribute this dumb, misinformed, homophobic piece of shit poem to Maya Angelou??
I support Tracy Reese because her stuff is cute. I won't buy HoD, Baby Phat and FUBU because it's not my style. I'm not going to buy things I don't want for the sake of supporting black people.
Timberland is owned by the president of the KKK
Timberland's owner is Jewish.
My people reclaim your status in this world and in your life, F.U.B.U. in case you didn’t know, stands for (For Us By Us)
Marketing ploy by FUBU?
Ralph Lauren doesn’t even look at black men
Unless they are driving him around town
Ralph Lauren has lots of black models. Tyson is just one of them. Tyson of course had like the decade long, very well-paying contract that I'm sure had a big part in him becoming one of the few male models
When was the last time you saw Liz Claiborne,
Conversing with black women
Liz died last year. She stopped running the company 2 decades ago. I don't know about her, but her company hired black models. Kiara Kabukuru was a face of LC for a while.
You come up in the club wearing Versace Clothes made by a homosexual male,
So even when you say you are straight,
It is very hard to tell,
And for footwear, you wear Timberlands,
A liar AND a homophobe!
I cannot forget Nautica,
When was the last memory you have of ships,
Coming to North America in shackles,
Being beaten over the back with whips
Actually, it was a few weeks ago when I went for my free sailing lesson
haha. God this shit is still going on after 9 years? I remember getting this chain e-mail in 1999.
I don't wear "designer brands"…. well… I've got a few. But I basically buy what I like. Most of my clothes (my tees) I get online (via indies sites, individual artists, etc). I also can't stand it when guys dress soooo matchy. I swear these days, guys take longer to dress than females.
What's annoying is that black folks keep forwarding this foolishness. I also like theme of defending blackness through homophobia and the Versace reference. Really intelligent. A variation of this has been around since at least the mid '90s. Only some of the designers have changed. The real question, is why do black people buy into this silly conspiracy nonsense? Use your brain, fools.
I just recieved this in my inbox and was so disgusted. Glad to know that Maya Angelou didn't write this…that would be shocking.
And common sense should tell anyone that the KKK doesn't have a 'president'. What a crap of a poem.