A new article by website Mashable has given an insight to the true state of race affairs in America, revealing the dress code some black men are adopting as a means of survival.
The piece, titled Black Armour, shows how men are dressing smartly to feel safer on the streets or to avoid police suspicion based solely on the colour of their skin.
Mashable describes the dress code as sending the message: “I’m safe. I don’t pose a threat. You can trust me.”
American fashion blogger and creative director Sabir Peele, who was interviewed for the Mashable piece
While the article notes that many black American men, like style blogger Sabir Peele (above), dress up simply because they like to, it also reveals how many do so just to avoid being labelled a "hood" or a "thug".
But even Peele has noticed the difference in how he is treated, depending on his outfit.
"I don't necessarily dress up because I want to deflect any attention from police, no. But I wonder if people would be questioning why a black man is at places, like a fancy hotel, and staring my way if I wasn't suited up like I usually am," he said.
28-year-old Alex Peay, the founder and president of Rising Sons, a non-profit based in Philadelphia that focuses on empowering and supporting underprivileged minorities, told Mashable that he prefers dressing comfortably, but wearing fashionable clothes is like "armour" to him.
“When I have a suit on I feel like all of a sudden, the world sees me differently. Cops aren’t staring, people wave back, people shake my hand, they open the door for me. It’s like I’m the president of the United States,” he said.
But with 699 reported police related deaths in 2015 so far, something really needs to change - and that shouldn't be people's outfits.