The Hoodie that Kills?

Is teenager Trayvon Martin really dead because he wore a hoodie? This popular American garment, a hooded sweatshirt, is about to become the object of public controversy and assertion in the African-American community. Additionally, it has henceforth been worn by the supporters of a counterculture who denounce the endemic racism eating away at American society.

After eight consecutive days of 80 degree-plus March weather, Chicago, like the rest of the American Midwest, experienced the second warmest winter in its history. In this central United States metropolis which ranks, with 10 million inhabitants, among the most racially segregated cities, the popular phenomenon known as summer violence didn’t take much time to start up [this year]. In a single mid-March weekend, 48 crime victims were counted across the city, including those from neighborhoods generally considered relatively safe — a concept that is still shaky when it comes to Chicago. Among the signs that alert a Chicagoan as he’s walking down the street [to danger] is the prominent hoodie. Worn by many a criminal, the hooded sweatshirt incites fear and uneasiness; it’s not rare that one crosses the street to avoid the person who’s wearing a hoodie and whose face, in most cases, can’t even be made out.

When he felt that George Zimmerman was following him as he made his way home in Sanford, Florida, young Trayvon Martin reacted by pulling his hoodie over his head. Some people believe this would only have confirmed the paranoid suspicions of his attacker who, several moments later, would shoot him while claiming self-defense (see the updates on the case at the end of this article). Ever since, thousands of protesters have cried out in anger across the country and demanded justice while sporting the hoodie as a rallying symbol. It’s a social phenomenon which speaks volumes about a street counterculture which exposes the feelings of many young Americans, often black, of being pariahs in a country which very slowly evolves—and witnesses abrupt flashbacks —concerning equal rights.

He would be alive today without his hoodie

Monday night, American celebrity Clay Aiken appeared on the very popular NBC show “Access Hollywood” wearing a hoodie while LeBron James, NBA basketball star, tweeted a photo of the Miami Heat team players dressed in hoodies with the hashtags #WeARETrayvonMartin, #Hoodies and #stereotypes. New York photographer Darrell Dawkins spawned countless imitators following his example several days after he posted a hoodie self-portrait on the web.

Well-known Fox newscaster Geraldo Rivera —the Fox station rarely has an open-minded approach to analysis—actually declared to the Los Angeles Times that “I believe Trayvon Martin would be alive today, but for his hoodie….Pedestrians cross the street to avoid black or brown hoodie wearers.” For him, “When you see that kid coming your way, you are thinking ghetto or ghetto wannabe.” His point was perceived as an invitation to blame the victim. Bob Munson, a teacher at Taft High School in California, also intervened to argue that “hoodies are a defensive piece of apparel.” For him, many [hoodie wearers] are Blacks and Latinos who live in neighborhoods overrun with gangs where wearing a hoodie says loudly and clearly, “Leave me alone. I may have a knife or gun tucked in my waistband.”

You Are What You Wear

On the other side of the country, Imani Perry of the Center of African-American Studies at Princeton University explained to CNN reporters: “While it is clear that hoodies are a popular form of attire for Americans of all ethnicities and ages, it is a style that has become particularly popular for black and Latino youth.” According to Perry, “Because of the pervasive and trenchant racial stereotypes associated with young black people, especially males, their styles are often singled out for criticism, as signs of criminality and misdeeds. But in truth this is simply another form of stigmatization against the person underneath the clothing, and only superficially has anything to do with the clothing.”

But Cynthia Jasper, who lectures at the University of Wisconsin-Madison in the Consumer Sciences department, stresses that even so, without the racial aspect, the hoodie is a problem. For her, “When people interpret your way of dressing, hoodie or whatever, people interpret that as something you control. You can’t control how tall you’re going to be or your hair and eyes, but you can control what you put on your body, and your clothing is interpreted as representing who you are.”

From Rocky to Mark Zuckerberg

It’s a fascinating story that such an ordinary hooded sweatshirt has gone from its debut up to now becoming the symbol of racial injustice. Already present in the Middle Ages, when it was enveloped in both mystery, as it was worn by the devout, and danger, because it was worn by the mentally ill, the hoodie became popular in 1930s American culture thanks to the well-known brand Champion. It was at first a garment for factory workers before becoming popular as cheap sports apparel for the working class. Pop culture took it over in New York City in the early 1970s, when youths went out to spray graffiti while wearing hoodies so as not to be identified. Then in 1976 the Rocky character, under the guise of Sylvester Stallone, made the garment into the symbol of a certain type of struggle for the middle class. It was with the hip-hop movement that the hoodie became the ideal personal style, immortalized by rapper Eminem in the 2002 film Super 8. Ever since, Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg and brands like Hugo Boss and Ralph Lauren have gentrified the garment a bit. Just until….

A Sign of Rebellion

Until the gangs took it over and certain people, following the example of British Prime Minister David Cameron, didn’t do them proud by pointing the finger at the hoodie as a sign of those who break the law. Imperceptibly, the hoodie thus fell out of favor with the fad-loving middle class, leaving the hoodie to the Latino and African-American population.

Ironic: George Zimmerman himself was wearing a hoodie as he left home that fatal night and crossed paths with Trayvon Martin for the last time on February 28, 2012.

Where’s the Martin-Zimmerman Case At Now?

The latest developments in the Martin-Zimmerman case as of March 28, 2012:

Last night, MSNBC procured documents originating from George Zimmerman’s previous court trials, revealing him to be a very un-model citizen. In 2005, at the age of 20 years old, he was arrested and charged with “violent resistance to a police officer” and “refusal to follow the law as directed by the officer.” Enrolled in an alcohol rehabilitation program, he roughed up another officer who checked on one of his friends. Also in 2005, his ex-fiancée Veronica Zuazo had filed against him for domestic abuse. In 2006 he was questioned for speeding.

In Los Angeles, a group calling themselves the “New Black Panthers” (in reference to the Maoist organization which, from 1966 to 1982, acted in defense of black Americans) has offered $10,000 for Zimmerman’s capture as they issue death threats.

Zimmerman’s defense maintains that young Trayvon Martin initiated the fatal attack by making the first move. George Zimmerman has still not been questioned.