Last week, Dennis King was among the hundreds of Indianapolis residents who proudly turned out for the Justice for Trayvon rally downtown.
Wearing his gray hoodie, King nodded his head in agreement as ministers who organized the rally called for a new federal investigation into last year’s slaying of teenager Trayvon Martin and a review of the state’s controversial stand-your-ground law.
“What happened to Trayvon wasn’t right, and I just wanted to come out and show my support,” King said. “I thought it would be a way to pay tribute to his memory by wearing what he wore the night he was shot.”
Many Americans feel the same way as King, posting photos of Martin wearing a hoodie, or wearing one themselves at events held in support of him.
After Martin’s fatal shooting in Florida last year, protests erupted across the country by those demanding justice and a crackdown on racial profiling. Many of these people came wearing hoodies and carrying bags of skittles and cans of iced tea as Martin did.
Since his shooting, the hoodie has taken on a somewhat new identity as a symbol of justice.
Also known as the “hooded sweatshirt,” the hoodie was first developed by Champion during the 1930s as gear for laborers in New York who worked in cold temperatures.
By the 1970s, the hoodie gained wider acceptance after actor Sylvester Stallone used one while portraying the title character in the 1976 film “Rocky.”
With the development of rap music during the late 1970s and 1980s, the hoodie evolved into a popular fashion selection in hip-hop culture. Even high-end fashion designers such as Giorgio Armani, Tommy Hilfiger and Ralph Lauren included hoodies in their fashion lineup.
By the 1990s, however, the hoodie became a symbol of crime and suspicious individuals, largely due to its ability to easily hide a person’s appearance.
Hoodies began to develop a social stigma among many people, thanks to frequent surveillance footage appearances of criminals conducting crimes and law enforcement sketches of those who were wanted, most notably the so-called “Unabomber,” Theodore Kaczynski.
Experts have noted that with the rise of hip-hop, hoodies became particularly popular among Black and Latino youth, and became part of racial profiling and stereotypes.
Imani Perry, a noted professor at Princeton University who has studied the social impact of the hoodie, said because of those pervasive stereotypes “associated with Black young people, particularly males, their styles are often singled out for criticism, as signs of criminality and misdeeds.”
Perry added, however, that hoodies have become popular among youth of all ethnicities, and stigmas are aimed more at the people underneath hoodies and not the clothing.
Since Martin’s death, however, the hoodie has arguably undergone an image transformation, becoming a symbol for justice today like the raised, clenched fist was for many activists during the civil rights movement.
Supporters have been joined by professional athletes, business executives such as Facebook founder Mark Zuckerburg and even political officials in using the hoodie to send important messages.
Congressman Bobby Rush of Illinois, a former Black Panther who was active in the civil rights movement, has described the hoodie as a tool that can help activists “stand up for justice and truth.”
Earlier, while speaking out against racial profiling on the floor of the U.S. House of Representatives last year, Rush was escorted from the chamber shortly after saying, “Just because someone wears a hoodie does not make them a hoodlum.”
King, the Indianapolis resident, agrees, and believes that today someone could very well be making a statement when they choose to wear a hoodie.
“I’m gonna’ continue wearing mine, I know that,” King said. “Not only is it stylish, but it will help keep Trayvon’s memory alive until we see justice.”
