By Victoria Musa
“If you’re wearing Nike Tech in 2025, get out my face.”
– From a video featuring a group of non-Black individuals.Â
“Racism always finds a way to repackage itself,” is what a friend of mine said regarding the Nike Tech/Quarter-Zip debacle that recently took TikTok by storm. A creator by the name of Jason Gyamfi started the “quarter-zip trend” to show that Black men can switch between formal and casual wear as they please. But as the trend garnered popularity, many individuals took it as an opportunity to spew out prejudiced rhetorics that reinforce negative stereotypes in the Black community.Â
The growing distaste that people are garnering towards Nike Tech is nothing more than Anti Blackness. Some people’s reasoning for demeaning this form of dressing is because, “Black people need to dress more professionally.” But when exactly are Black people not dressing professionally? Also, why is that when it comes to topics regarding professionalism, the pressure is only put onto Black people? First off, Nike Tech has never been regarded as “formal wear”, in fact I’ve only seen people wear it to casual places such as supermarkets, fast food places, the gym, or any establishment that calls for leisurewear/casual dressing.Â
So why do Black People have to be professional 24/7 and who are we showing out for when we push these rhetorics?Â
The idea that Black people should be dressed up all the time is rooted in “Respectability Politics.” Respectability politics is the idea that Black people conforming to White Supremacist ideas will stop them from experiencing racism or discrimination. It’ll separate them from “Bad Black People” — or what other like to call it “niggas” and “YN’s”. But what people fail to realize is that people aren’t discriminated against because they’re a “specific type” of Black person, it’s because there’s “Black” in front of what they are. When Trayvon Martin was killed, people justified it by saying he shouldn’t have been wearing a hoodie. When Martin Luther King Jr and Malcom X were killed, they were both suited up. When Ryan Coogler was racially profiled at a Bank of America location in 2022, should he have been suited up in order to avoid that? Why do Black people need to conform to oppressive systems in order to survive when we shouldn’t be discriminated against in the first place?Â
Growing up, I would always hear that it’s “improper” for Black Women to wear bonnets to the supermarket because we should always be “kept up when we leave the house”. I’m sorry but I didn’t know that grocery stores held fashion shows, and as soon as you start shopping, you’re a model. I’m not going to the grocery store to “show out”, I’m going to buy groceries because I’m thinking of essential items and food. It’s these same rhetorics that lead us to police each other and perpetuate this Anti-Blackness. To the point where some people see natural hair as “childish”, “unkept”, or “unprofessional”. The latter is what led to the crown act being passed in multiple states to protect Afro-centric hair in the workplace.Â
I’d also like to add that when Black people are having these conversations, non-Black people should keep their mouths closed. In other words: If you’re not Black, please shut up.
The quarter-zip joke was specifically being made by Black people until non-Black people decided to join in and use it to perpetuate their own forms of anti-Blackness. All while indulging in Black culture whenever it suits them – specifically Black American culture.Â
Overall, the quarter-zip conversation has shown us that respectability politics is still strangling our community and anti-Blackness is still prevalent in our society.