By Norma Adams-Wade
Late visual artist Ernest H. Avery Jr.’s imagery stunned me…as I believe it did or will you.
So, I had to look him up.
What I learned about his life, works, and ability to make a picture be worth a thousand words did not disappoint.
The painting that gut-punched me is called “Ghosts of Respect.” You see the image posted with this writing.
Dallas Scratch, a familiar local deejay and Dallas native, recently posted the copy of Avery’s painting on Facebook. That’s where I saw it. The comments portion proved that many readers were as impacted as I was. A number of the responses used the word “powerful” to describe what they saw.
The image is Avery’s interpretation of the current sagging pants fashion trend mainly among teens and young adult African-American males. Avery compared this clothing trend to that segment of previous generations of African-American males who seized opportunities to proudly wear classic, tasteful three-piece suits, ties and Sunday-best Fedora hats.
Avery Jr. was a beloved figure, cherished by his family and cohorts, respected by students in the art classes he taught at St. Charles Community College in St. Charles Missouri. The painter was born in New York in the 1930s, spent much of his adult life in the areas of St. Peters and St. Charles, Missouri where he died in 2006 at age 75.
He knew intimately about the styles of the ’30s through ‘50s when class, manners and home-training were Black community staples. His formative years were during the same era as el-Hajj Malik el-Shabazz, aka Malcolm X and Malcolm Little (born 1925), and Martin Luther King Jr. (born 1929).
Someone in the Facebook comments section made the point that all was not sugar and spice doing that era and that conflict and low-life behavior did exist.
I was just thinking… Yes. That point is true. But… I submit that the overriding pride, striving, determination, and joy of dressing to the nines for special occasions was common and palpable and served an effective purpose.
Others in the comments section, took to task the current generation of teen and young adult African-American males, scolding them for drifting so far away from pride and respect in their current dress code of sagging pants and visible underwear – as Avery depicts in his provocative painting.
“Powerful message regardless of race (of) the younger generation in general who are supposed to be our future (but) are in need of repair. Respect is earned and these kids need a big dose of it,” one reader posted.
Still another posted: “Awesome depiction of days gone by and a clear lack of respect for oneself. Powerful and sad at the same time.”
That viewpoint elicited pushback from others who defended current teens and young adult Black males.
“The generation just prior to these young men failed them!!! They were never taught how to be Real Men!!! How to dress, work, and take care of their families!!! And it’s getting worse!!!,” one defender stressed.
We also can credit the Nation of Islam for yet another Facebook entry that shows super clean Black males in tailored three-piece suits, ties, and Fedora hats and a woman in the midst elegantly dressed to the hilt. The caption states: “Before sagging, bonnets and Walmart pj’s were worn in public, a culture of dressing was what our people did.”
An unanswered question is why the sagging pants and disrespect of self and others continues to persist as long as it has. And a puzzling question is: what must reside in the minds of the new generation as they attempt to walk and keep the sagging pants from dropping to their knees? The wide-legged gait to keep the pants from falling must be very uncomfortable as well.
There are numerous stories that make one both laugh with humor and cry with frustration. One story is of a young male who tried to run from the cops, but his pants fell, he stumbled, and was caught. Another story is of a young man trying to play basketball with one hand and hold up his pants on the court with the other. Common sense, it seems, would make him realize that if he had on a belt, he would have both hands free, and a better chance of winning the game.
Is fitting in and belonging THAT important? Where is the common sense?
Anyone can look back at the various favorable and not so favorable fashion trends that came and went with time. Take your pick: …roaring ‘20s flapper dresses, hot pants, mini-skirts, zoot suits with wide-brimmed tando or pork pie hats, M. C. Hammer baggy parachute pants, bellbottom pants, shoulder pads, gloves, hats, handbags, clog shoes, dashikis, women’s boots, women’s pant suits, hoodies, jogging suits, fur stoles, pill box hats, ballerina shoes, …the list goes on.
So, the question before us is: where do we go from here and how do we get there?
Norma Adams-Wade, is a proud Dallas native, University of Texas at Austin journalism graduate and retired Dallas Morning News senior staff writer. She is a founder of the National Association of Black Journalists and was its first southwest regional director. She became The News’ first Black full-time reporter in 1974. norma_adams_wade@yahoo.com
